Gravity's Burden
by Big Willis
Summary: Controlling his powers was hard. It was painful. But having fun being a mutant for hire made it bearable. After one close wake up call and a talk from a man named Xavier, Luke has to become an X-man and learn how to fully control himself. OC story.
1. Work

AN: Alright folks, as you can see, I'm trying my hand at the classic OC in the Marvel world. This is a new one for me, and I'm excited again. So many ways to ruin this, yet I have great goals for this story. I always liked the idea of mutants, and teenagers are very problematic, so this one should write itself out for me. Plenty of my own experiences to hide in the plot. Lots of them. I might as well call this a biography of my life with powers. If only.

Disclaimer: I have yet to come up with any clever ways of disclaiming ownership of this series or any other one. Some guys get all the good lines. This is mine saying that I don't own X-men Evolution, so those lawyers better back off. They won't get any money from me cause I don't even have a real job and I'm in high school! Have fun with that, you stupid law school graduates!

Chapter 1

Work

Summer time. The perfect paradise for kids and teens country-wide, escaping from the dark, cavernous depths of school classrooms. And it was only a month in the past. Out of the millions of kids thinking of their lost vacation, our story focuses on one teen in particular. He was tall for his age, nearly reaching 6 ft at the age of 15, with a dark brown hair and deep green eyes. Nothing particularly stood out about his appearance as a kid dressed in casual clothes except for one thing. His scar running across his jaw line. It was a fairly straight line and was considerably paler than the rest of his skin, making it quite noticeable on his lightly tanned complexion. He told everyone it was from falling on stone steps as a kid.

The teen starred out of the window in his corner seat in his least favorite class, English 2. Watching the cars drive by and leaves fall, he let his mind wander as he heard the teacher babble on about different adjectives and how they could be worded in sentences.

'_I wonder how long she's gonna go on with this. This class takes forever to go by anyways, and she makes it so much worse when she never shuts up talking about English. I'm tired of listening to it.' _Faintly, the young man heard light footsteps walking toward his desk. Still staring, he reached out and grabbed the approaching ruler that was coming to rap on his head.

"Good to see you're still awake Luke."

"Good to see you still walk like a hippo, Mrs. Anderson."

Luke had no reason to worry about the teacher, as he had proven time and time again that no matter how mad she got, the woman did not have the nerve to send him to the office or out of her class. She glared at him through her thick glasses, although it didn't affect him in the slightest. It was actually kinda cute to see a grown woman try to look mean and scary when it was biologically impossible for her to do so. It was not in her DNA to look mean.

"Has anyone ever told you that no one likes a smart ass?" His teacher told him this every time he opened his mouth.

"How many times have I told you that I don't like a dumb ass?" He told her the same thing every time.

None of the kids made a sound as the two classroom titans squared off gain. The students were used to the same old quarrel and most were tired of it. One said student tried to nip this in the bud before the argument came to life. "Shut the hell up for once Luke and let the lady teach. Then we can get the hell out of here." Luke glanced over at the outspoken girl, before turning his gaze back to the window.

"Maybe you should shut the hell up yourself and worry about the fact that your fake eyelashes on one side are longer than the other. Or maybe the fact that you may need to invest in shirts that are only 2 sizes smaller than you instead of 3, as your arms are getting flabby."

This caused a stir in the students. Luke never talked to other students that much, so for him to say so much at one time to anyone asides Mrs. Anderson. The girl he shot down was about to stammer out a reply when the teacher decided to tell both of them to shut up.

"Enough of your petty squabbling, Luke. If you have a problem with me or anyone else in this class, then leave. If you have a-" She was cut off by Luke grabbing his bag and heading for the door.

"Wait out in the hall for a minute while I figure out what to do with you." The class all groaned at what this meant. He was coming back.

'_Damn irritating woman. Can't she let me go sit in the principal's office?' _

Standing out in the hallway, Luke sighed and began humming, thinking of the song he had left paused on his phone. Mrs. Anderson stepped out of the class a few seconds later, a look of minor annoyance. "Luke, you've been doing this all year long and for the life of me I can't figure out why. You're a smart student and you seem to have an easy time in the classroom, but you refuse to follow any of the simple rules we have. What you said to Tanya was completely inappropriate and-"

"She shouldn't have butted in!" Luke interjected.

"Like you just did?"

The look she was giving him almost made him flip out. He hated when people, especially girls, tried to look into his eyes. It made him uncomfortable. Steeling himself to act normal, his reply was simply "I wanted to prove to you how annoying it was."

Mrs. Anderson sighed, taking off her glasses to clean them on the hem of her shirt. "I don't know what to do with you. You never show up for any of the council sessions I planned for you. Most kids would jump at the chance to get out of class, but you just skip during that time period instead."

"Saying I'm skipping implies that someone saw me somewhere I wasn't were I was supposed to be during a time I wasn't supposed to be there. I've been going to an advanced physics class instead of that counseling crap. The teacher has me on the roster in there and is none the wiser."

"Mr. Tutor? Why would anyone want to sit through that torture, especially by choice? Physics was always gibberish to me."

Luke hummed something, loud enough or her to hear. Offended yet again by his odd habit of humming words, she glared over the rim of her spectacles as she set them in place yet again.

"What was that? I swear that humming under your breath is the sorriest way to tell me something."

Luke smiled at her, before explaining. "Humming is my way of biting my tongue. Otherwise I would've said that you hate it because you're a dumb ass. Whoops, looks like I did anyways."

She hissed at this, clenching her jaw in yet another way that made her look adorable for trying to look mean. "Why won't you ever snap and send me to the office? What're you scared will happen if you do?" He had been pushing her all year and he wanted an answer for his question finally.

"I won't send you down there because that's what you want. I know all about you, Luke. I read most of your student file before you were placed in my class. All of those fights, detentions, referrals and suspensions you've acquired. You enjoy being in trouble. So I'm not letting you continue your addiction."

Luke laughed off that explanation easily. "The reason all that stuff happened was because I don't give a rip about this school or its rules. I just have to kill enough time to get out of high school and into college."

A dry snort was her response. "Colleges won't even offer you a scholarship with all the referrals you've had. And you're an orphan, you can't afford it without one."

"Says who?" Luke shot back "Orphans can go to college. And I could pay for the tuition if need be. And don't talk about my parents as if they were dead. That would be respectful considering where they are now."

Confusion was clear on her face as she babbled out "Your file said you lived alone."

"I do. Neither of my parents want me, so I live by myself. At least dad was willing to leave me a little money behind before vanishing off the face of the earth." He was staring at the floor while he said this, not quite wanting to catch her eyes. His dad was always a sore subject with him, mostly because of how confused he was with feelings about his dad. His mom on the other hand…

"I'm sorry. I only assumed that they were dead."

"You know what they say about assuming?" Looking up to see if she knew what he was talking about, he was graced with a small smile. "Yeah I do. Now get back in the class and write down your homework assignment." Throwing the door open in an exaggerated manner, he threw over his shoulder

"You know I'm not gonna do it." Luke hadn't done a single homework assignment ever since they were first assigned. If questioned by anyone in the office, he said it was because he had to work so late to pay for rent. The nice ladies behind the desks believed him. Anyone else was informed that he had better things to do than that B.S. And he did. He had jobs to do for people that needed things done. In fact, he had a meeting with a potential client tonight.

Sitting back down at his desk, Luke watched as the clock ticked down the last few minutes before the bell finally rang. Leaving his seat, Luke strolled out to the small parking lot outside his school. The back corner of the parking lot was normally deserted, leaving plenty space for his motorcycle. Heading towards the shady corner, he couldn't stop the pride he felt when he saw it. He had spent a fair bit of money on it, but he didn't care. That thing was awesome. Even for a motorcycle, his Kawasaki was a bad SOB. He unlocked the steering bar on it and put it in his backpack. Hopping on his beauty, he started her up and revved the engine before driving off out of the parking lot, looking forward to his evening of kicking back after he cleaned up his apartment.

Arriving at his home on the west end of town, Luke locked up his bike and let himself in, strolling into his living room to crash on the couch. Grabbing the remote from its usual resting place, he propped his feet up on the glass coffee table and cut on his TV. Not much was playing at the moment, so he went to his recorded episodes to pick up where he left off at a House episode, a freakin' long ass commercial. Jumping up from the couch, Luke moseyed over to his fridge and grabbed a Dr. Pepper out, popping it open and killing it, before grabbing another to take back with him to the couch. Relaxing into the sofa yet again, the teen finished watching the episode before looking at the time. 3:48. Damn. Now he had to clean his apartment up real quick. The new client he had been assigned was supposed to be here at 4:30. He definitely needed to vacuum before he/she got here, and get rid of all the cans clustering his coffee table. Maybe he should knock off those spider webs in the corners too. With a sigh, he went back to his room, grabbed his iPod stereo and set on the coffee table, setting his phone in it and put it on shuffle. Music would help make these chores a whole lot less annoying.

Rambling through his supply closet, Luke found the various cleaning implements he was going to need. With another sigh, he went to work. After 30 minutes of work, Luke declared himself finished, setting everything back in the supply closet and cutting the music off. Clearing his coffee table, Luke cut the TV off and made sure that nothing was in the room to make him look…unprofessional. The last thing he wanted to do was rub off badly on a new client that seemed to have a very expensive job in mind. Not that he cared about the money so much, but expensive jobs were normally dangerous. Dangerous to others equaled challenging to him. Challenging was fun.

Sure enough, right on the dot a person knocked on his door. Calming himself, he opened it and was greeted with rather formal lady, dressed in all blue, from her high heels to her sleeveless dress. Luke stepped back and offered her entrance to his apartment. She accepted, walking in and seating herself in a chair that was aligned directly across from another one.

'_Nice. She must mean business if she wants me to sit directly across from her. And she walked incredibly quite for a lady in heels. They sent me an actual operative instead of just some lapdog receptionist_.' Luke shut the door and seated himself across from her, waiting for her to begin her proposition. No introductions were needed. Names were need to know basis in his kind of work, but he had a feeling she already knew it.

"This is a nice place you have here Mr. Hensley." The woman had a rather sharp voice, as if she would try to cut him to pieces with her tone.

'_Yep. Her informant must have loose lips or she must be real close to the top._'

"Thanks. It's the best bachelor's pad I've had in a while. So now that you're here, what exactly did your boss have lined up for me to work on?"

She quirked one of her finely waxed eyebrows at it, chuckling at the teen half her age trying to be serious and professional. "No time for small talk? Alright well, there is an item of desire that you to require from a certain location." Luke nodded at this, watching as she dug out a vanilla folder from her purse and slid it across the table to him.

Not bothering to open it yet, Luke made sure he had her attention before questioning "Are there any particulars as to how I acquire it?" She shook her head negative.

"The boss could care less about any collateral damage as long as this is never pointed towards us. The items you are retrieving would be worthless to anyone asides the boss as it has…sentimental value to him and he didn't appreciate it being stolen from him. The item is fairly durable, so don't worry to much on it breaking, but don't go around slamming it into walls either."

Luke waved this off. She was treating him like a kid and it was grating his nerves, damn it! "Alright then. Where and when should I go to drop off the item when I have it?"

"That's in the file, sweetheart." Standing up as a sign to show that this meeting was over, the woman waited for Luke to lead her to the door and show her out.

After she did leave and was out of sight, Luke slammed the door shut, rattling it in the frame loudly. "Why can't I get any damn respect from employers? If they've heard of me then they should obviously know that I'm not a joke, so why not treat me like an actual professional? I've got a better rep out there than most others in the area, so why doesn't that mean anything to anyone?"

Locking his door, he ambled back to his couch, but not before grabbing his stereo again to start his music back playing. Looking down at the file on his coffee table, he noticed just how thick it actually was. It must've weighed a ton. Flipping it open, he scanned over the first document, which mostly explained that his object was a simple vial or a liquid that he didn't need to know about. It would be labeled Xc24738 and the liquid would a dark red.

'I'm stealing blood? This certainly looks interesting.' Interesting didn't always mean that the job was worth it. After all the botched jobs he'd had, he knew that it wasn't always worth it. There was usually a catch.

Reading on in the file, Luke found that he would be breaking into Physonics Labs, just outside of the local area. The address on it showed that it was situated in the middle of what looked like a forest, way off the beaten path. Reading through all the information he had been given on the grounds, building layout, a basic schedule for guard patrols, what type of security the buildings used, even inside schematics.

'Why the hell don't they send in a janitor with this kind of info? Anyone can do this.' Finishing up the documents, Luke was about to shut the folder when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. There. The folder had a logo on it, one he had seen before. He couldn't remember it exactly, but that still meant something.

There were two outcomes from being contacted by the company. Either he had worked with them before and they liked his results, or he had been hired to work against them and they had discovered his ID. The first option was good because that meant his rep was better than he thought. The second option was good because if they were setting him up, then his rep was better, plus he would be famous for defying whoever the company is. Win/win for Luke. "I gotta take this one. No way can I pass it up."

Opening the file one more time to grab the schematics and info he would need, he found the number he needed to call to take this job. Dialing it in on his cell phone, he heard the receptionist pick up immediately. "I'm taking the Physonics Lab job." Hanging up, Luke pushed himself off the couch and headed towards his closet. Grabbing a change of clothes, Luke changed into his work gear as he called it. It was simply a pair of black cargo pants, a black and gray long sleeve shirt, a pair of black performance Nikes, and his goggles. After suiting himself up, he grabbed a pair of black fingerless gloves on his nightstand and slid them on.

Looking over the dossier one last time, Luke set out. It was starting to get dark, so by the time he got there it'd be dark already. Wintertime in Virginia does that. Grabbing a dark lightweight jacket on his way out, Luke revved up his bike and drove off, goggles set firmly in place over his eyes. These goggles were special to Luke and he used them only for special occasions. Like tonight. Making good time, Luke was an hour away from the lab's address when it started to rain. Normally this would be painful and problematic for a biker to drive in this weather. Good thing for Luke he wasn't normal.

* * *

><p>Outside of Physonics Labs - 11:17 - Northwest Virginia<p>

Easing up on were the road split off into a dirt path, Luke left the beaten path, moving into the heavy woods around the building. Cutting his bike off and leaving it well hidden, Luke crept forward as he took in the building's security, dry as a whistle. The rain hadn't reached this neck of the woods so the guards were still out and about. And sure enough, like the file said, the guards outside looked like minimum wage rejects from the police force. Getting past them would be easy enough. The cameras on the exterior of the building were well placed, but rotated. Good timing was all he needed.

Waiting for the guard to walk past and the camera to looks away, Luke darted out from the bushes, silent as the night. Reaching the near safety of the buildings shadow, he slid along the wall until he reached the door he knew led the disposal labs. Pressing his ear against the door to see if he heard anything, Luke broke the silence by slipping through the door, setting it back in place gently. Scanning the room to make sure it was truly empty, Luke made his way to the connecting hallway. There were rotating cameras in the first floor hallways and the one at the end of the hall Luke was in was currently turned. Acting quickly, Luke sneaked directly under it. The camera at the adjacent hallway would rotate the opposite direction of the one in the hallway, so Luke had to make sure that both cameras didn't move. Simple. It was only a small matter of concentration for him. Now he could enter the unguarded stairwell.

Once securely inside, Luke let the cameras free to rotate as they would normally. Turning to face his next obstacle, Luke strained his eyes to see the faint red light of motion sensors. They covered the stairway every four feet from top to bottom, leaving no room to traverse on the stairs themselves. But the rails were a different matter. Grabbing on to the rail, Luke shimmied along outside it until the stair had wrapped around itself, before climbing straight up. Once he had reached the fourth floor, Luke hauled himself over the railing, but didn't touch the floor just yet. The 3 square foot surrounding the doorway were covered in sensors. He'd have to open the door without touching the floor. Focusing on the doorknob, Luke held his hand as if he were holding the doorknob itself. Turning his hand slowly, Luke smiled as the doorknob did too, despite the pain lacing over his fingers. Pushing it open with a wave of his hand, Luke merely jumped over the sensors and shut the door behind him.

No cameras in this hallway. Walking down the door he knew would lead to the labs, Luke stopped himself just in time as he heard voices. Two of them, speaking to each other about some form of …alteration in the natural decoding of DNA in humans.

'_Two scientists that can't take a break from their jobs. If the nighttime security as already been activated, then they may live in the building. In fact, I think the blueprints had some kind of bedroom area to it. It's only just down the hall, so when these two crash, they won't have far to go before they collapse. But I don't want to wait that long in the middle of an open hallway. So what know? Busting in and knocking both of them out could raise alarms. Sneaking in is much better but how?_' Luke contemplated, his face slowly lighting up as an idea came to him.

'_Vents! There was an outlet around here somewhere and there is one inside the room too._' Looking back down the hallway he had just come up, Luke spotted his entrance. Crouching in front of it, Luke placed the palm of his hand on the grate covering the vent. With a swift tug, he felt the bolts loosen and give leeway, letting Luke's sore fingers pry it off the wall. The vent itself was larger than Luke would've thought it was. Maybe all those stupid movies had something right after all. Luke wormed his way into the vent, placing the cover back in place behind him, before continuing down his path. A few spider webs guarded the vents, being brushed aside as the teen continued to the next opening. He found the nearest grate opening and eased forward towards it, taking care not to make any noise.

From the vent, he could still hear the scientists, even better now, leading Luke to conclude he was in the right room. Pushing the grate out was far easier than pulling it, as Luke soon discovered. No racket at all. The two scientists were gathered over a small microscopes, from what Luke could see in his position. Of course, that position was right in front of the two men, both in their late 40's. From this point, Luke had two options.

He could either try to continue sneaking or he could attack while he still had the element of surprise. The first was bound to fail and he only had minutes before they were bound to notice him. Taking stock of the situation, Luke saw a fire extinguisher on the wall. Right next to a fire alarm. Wait. Fire alarm. '_Why didn't I think of that earlier? It worked last year._' Luke nearly hit himself for overlooking such a simple and practical option.

With but a flick of his wrist, Luke made the alarm switch flip, sending off the shrill alarm signature to fire alarms.

What happened was completely unexpected however.

The door to the room locked from what seemed to be a mechanism inside the frame, as well as all of the windows, which were made of reinforced glass. The scientists themselves did not look alarmed, but merely annoyed at the sound distracting them. They both went to flip the alarm when Luke jumped into action, literally. Sailing smooth over the lab table he was crouched behind, Luke grabbed both men by their balding heads and slammed them together, hoping to knock them out. If only that were the case. One went out like a light, but the other, the seemingly older of the two shrugged it off and lashed out at the intruder, a snarl of anger on his face. Luke through up his hands to block the incoming hits, waiting till the man had both arms away from the body. The man attempted to grab him, opening himself up for exactly what Luke wanted. Lurching forward with an unnatural speed, Luke pressed the palms of his hands firm into the scientists sternum,, before pushing lightly. The results were the man sliding straight back into a wall, which his head connected with a solid _thump_ before falling to the floor unconscious.

"Thank God no one heard that. Way to go fire alarm."

Luke ignored the still ringing alarm and began to look around the room for what he needed. A fridge like the one in the dossier was sitting in the corner and Luke investigated. Inside were the types of vials he was looking for. Rummaging through them and throwing out what was in the way, making sure not to leave prints on the glasses, Luke finally found the vial with the same info as in the dossier. Xc24738 was a nasty looking color red, but it affirmed Luke's suspicion that he was stealing blood. Now that he had it and put it safely in one of his many pants pockets, he needed to leave. All of the guards should've left by now, but he would get caught leaving out the main entrances like that. He needed something alternate. Luke looked out the window at the night surrounding him, thinking of a way out. Then it hit him. The window.

No one would ever guess that he would drop from 4 stories because no sane person would. That little detail didn't matter to Luke, because he was going to do it. His mind was made up. But he had to open it. Shutting off the fire alarm with another wave of his wrist, Luke heard the lock tumblers give way inside the frame. Sliding the window up, Luke carefully dropped over the edge, holding on with his hands as he eased the window back down. Looking down below him not that the window was shut, Luke pushed off the wall with his feet and let go. Falling was always so much fun to Luke. He wondered what it would be like to sky-dive sometimes, but never got the nerve up to do it. But now, falling from the fourth story of a science lab, he felt great. But the feeling came to an end when he touched the ground softly, his body beginning to feel the strain of his abilities. A good night's sleep ought to fix him up.

Making sure yet again he was still undetected, Luke ran into the woods were he knew his bike was waiting him. As quietly as he could, Luke started the vehicle and drove off, not letting up on the gas till he was back in his hometown. He had until tomorrow morning to deliver his plunder to the drop off location, which meant he could sleep in some. Arriving at his apartment a few minutes later, Luke parked his bike and headed on inside, throwing off everything he wasn't sleeping in by the bedroom door. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Luke was out like a light.

Waking up to his abnormally early alarm clock, Luke rolled over to read the time.

'_Yep, time to get up and drop the blood off._'

Pushing himself out of bed, Luke ambled into the shower and finished his daily hygienic routine, dressing himself in school clothes. After all, he still had that to go to after he racked up his payment. The job itself wasn't that complicated and there weren't any nasty surprises. A nice boring job over all. Leaving his apartment and revving up his motorcycle, Luke drove himself to the empty warehouse that was going to be the site. If he knew what was going to go down, he probably would've drove the other way.

* * *

><p>Abandoned Warehouse - 6:22 - Lemming Street<p>

Leaving his bike in the alleyway to enter in the back door as instructed, Luke found the place dark with only one light on. Standing in the spotlight was the same woman as before. She waved for Luke to come towards her and he did so. Reaching into his backpack, where he had moved the vial to before he left the apartments, Luke held it out to her. She took it from his hand gently, and placed it in her purse. She turned to walk away before Luke stopped her.

"Hold on a sec. You still owe me my payment."

A small humorless laugh erupted from the woman, as if she knew something he didn't. "Owe you? Payment? The only thing a rotten thief like you deserves is a ditch to rot in. And we'll give you that. Boys!"

Out of the shadows, men of a rowdy, thuggish assortment came forward, each wearing a grin or smirk that spelled trouble for the young teen.

"So after all that work I did for you, you wanna let some thugs beat me up to keep me quiet or something? Cheapskates!"

"Quiet? My boss said to make sure there were no witnesses of me acquiring the item. Only you and me know, so you've got to go. Don't worry, I'm sure these boys will make it quick for you."

Luke just glared at the men now surrounding him. This was not looking to be his day. The woman vanished out a door and the leader of the gang stepped forward, a bat in hand. He was a good bit taller than the others, and had the stockiness to back it up as well.

"We're gonna mess you up pretty boy, so go ahead and say your last prayer!" Stepping forward in what would be a powerful swing, the man was stopped dead in his tracks. By what appeared to be nothing but air. In a flash of gray, the man was knocked off his feet and sent flying a good 10 feet back. The other goons were nervous by this sudden show of the supernatural, but when the leader shouted "Get him!" from the floor, the fear vanished.

Luke was now inside a ring of testosterone and rage, all directed at him in punches and kicks. Avoiding what he could and lashing out with the unreal gray force to assault those whom he couldn't avoid, Luke was nearly dripping with sweat from the exertion of a few minutes of this. He had smacked around everyone who came near him, until all of them were unconscious, except for the leader. The massive man had stayed back to watch Luke wear himself out. Luke had nearly forgotten about him, as tired as he was, but the heavy footsteps and the shout of "Take this, you freak!" caused him to turn his head just in time to catch the bat with his nose.

Luke head snapped back as he stumbled backwards, clutching his nose that was spewing blood. The pain that he felt from his broken nose killed any thoughts in his head except revenge. The man with the bat now looked utterly terrified, as the teenage punk had not seemed all that affected by his full might. Trying another swing with the bat, the man ran forward and tried to knock Luke's head off with another haymaker of a hit. Luke ducked it easily, before rising with a swift and strong jab to the man's throat. Clutching his throat and bent over coughing hoarsely, the main thug never saw the knee coming as it smashed in on his face, breaking his nose and busting his lip. Hollering out in pain as best he could, he looked through watery eyes to see Luke with what looked like a gray tornado in his hand, shove his palm into his chest. Then he went blank. Luke watched in satisfaction as the man was sent spiraling through the air. Normally his powers were straightforward pushes and pulls, but that right there was something special. It was a bit over the top, but well worth it, in his opinion.

Clutching his still bleeding nose with his shirt, Luke made his way back to his bike, his body aching and his head throbbing the entire way. Driving back to his apartment was painful, but the bleeding had stopped and his pain was easing. He'd have to go get his nose checked out after school. First he need another shower and a change of clothes.

The cold water and a fresh shirt felt wonderful to Luke when he finished. He headed out the door again, with only a few minutes to get to school before the tardy bell. Great. Driving himself to his least favorite place, Luke parked in his normal spot and made his way inside, just as the bell rang and the hallways cleared. Maybe if he hurried Mrs. Milstead would let him in anyways. She was very reasonable.

Before he could make it down the hall to his class, he heard his name called out by the loud ruff voice he knew to be the principle. Shit. Turning to see the man standing right outside his office, Luke made his way back down the hall to a room he as quite used to. One thing was different today though. His principle had a visitor. A wealthy-looking, bald, and crippled visitor. The principle closed the door behind him as he entered and sat down at his desk.

"Luke, this is Professor Charles Xavier. He's here to talk to you about enrollment at his school in New York."

'_New York_?' Luke wondered, before the professor spoke himself, holding out his hand for a handshake while addressing the student.

"Not only that, but I also want to talk about this morning." All Luke could think to himself was '_Shit. What have I got myself into?'_

Chapter End! I did it! I finished this chapter of a story based entirely on an OC of my creation. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm not arrogant to think otherwise, I'd publish the entire story outside of the 4 seasons of plot for the X-men Evolution. But I'm still new to writing, let alone publishing, so I'm keeping it simple. But rest assured, I have a trillion other plot ideas for this story, some to add in, others for this story's sequel. (Yes I did plan that far.) I also want to clear one thing up before I get raged on about it.

This story will different from the normal cannon because of the fact that more mutants will be up for hire than before. What I mean by this is that mutants like Gambit, who are professional thieves, are sought out as Freaks for hire to perform certain jobs. Luke is one of many who are involved in a large underground network that is home to the most dangerous thieves in the world. The mutants are sough out by word of mouth only, as it is the safest way for the mutants, as they could always deny anything. Reputation is a lot in this world, and Luke desires an impeccable one. Maybe his time with Xavier will fix that.

And if anyone complains that Mrs. Anderson is too nice to Luke, then get over yourself. Teachers play favorites like that all the time. Hell, even the principles do that. I've gotten away with more crap in school than I'd care to say, but you guys all know that some kids are lucky enough to do whatever they want in school and get away with it. At this school, Luke happens to be one of those kids in Mrs. Anderson's class.

Thanks for reading, drop a review if you thought anything about the story, good or bad, and eat some prunes. You'll thank me for it next time you go to the bathroom! Chapter title came from the Jimmy Eat World song. Until next time, this is Big Willis


	2. Hurt

AN: Here we go again on the second chapter of Gravity's Burden. I'm happy with the response I've gotten so far and can't wait to see how things pick up. So here's the next chapter, fresh off the keyboard after baking in my brain for a while.

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of their characters, but I do own everything else. That doesn't mean much on a site were nothing is published for money, does it? I recently learned that part of my idea for Luke's powers has already been incorporated into another character, but I'll disclaim that when we cross that bridge.

Chapter 2

Hurt

For as calm, cool, and collected Luke could be, the teen had to admit that he freaked out a little. The bald professor was peering into eyes, calculating away about something. It was unnerving.

Luke fidgeted in his chair for a second before asking "What about this morning?"

"How would you like to retire out of that type of lifestyle and start fresh? I run an institute for youths like you that have similar gifts, in order to teach you on how to fully grow into your talents."

A multitude of emotions ran across Luke's face as he thought for a minute. _'This man is either incredibly connected to be able to gather mutants and train them, or a very powerful mutant himself. Both seem like bad things if he decides to use force.'_

"What do you expect in return? No one does something like this for free." Luke's eyes steeled as he said this, judging the man's intentions in his mind. '_He's either gathering up a small army of mutants for himself or he wants a lot of money or control over us.'_

"I'm merely teaching gifted youths because it is the right thing to do and it needs to be done. I do expect you to meet certain behavioral requirements and to use your gifts properly. This is the most I ask of you. There is no admission fee or anything like that involved. You are fully welcome to leave whenever you see fit, or return whenever you see fit. But if you chose stay, there will always be something to further your talents, as well as your control of those talents."

"What makes you think my gifts haven't been fully developed anyways? I'm pretty sure my talents have reached their potential."

"I would have to disagree. I've looked over your files and I see so much more to you than what you've done. I've even talked to others about you and they all seem to think your talents are expanding still. I can guarantee you have a lot to learn from me, Luke. But only if you are willing to."

The crippled man let Luke think everything over to himself, while thanking the principle and handing Luke a card to call should he decide to accept the offer. Then the man let himself out, saying he had a flight to catch. The principle then went on to say that Luke had a great opportunity before him and that Xavier was a legitimate Professor, certified for college material and also had a degree in genetics from Oxford. For him to seek Luke out was an honor, according to the large man behind the principle's desk.

Luke shut out the principle's voice, thinking over what the man said. '_He talked to other mutants about me? And they told him I wasn't fully developed yet? Who the heck keeps tabs on me enough to know if I've progressed or not?_' None of his contacts had ever been around him during jobs or any kind of training Luke did. Luke always worked solo, and shuffled up his clientele to make sure he never became identified by any one employee. The Network shouldn't have any way of telling who he was. The mutants who helped run the community made sure of it.

So it had to be some other way. That was incredibly upsetting to Luke that a random stranger could come out of nowhere and tell him he was a mutant. He had to have been watched somehow.

Luke snapped out of his thoughts when the principle, who had been silent through the entire conversation, broke his concentration and told him to go to class. Luke pushed his self out of the chair and left the office, his body on auto pilot to his class. Once there, he absentmindedly told the teacher he had been in the principle's office, which she excused. The rest of the day was a blur to Luke, with his mind bogged down as it was with Xavier dumping the choice in his lap. Luke wanted to fully control his powers, he really did, but he couldn't trust some stranger to actually teach him and not make him some servant under a master's bidding.

Reassurance. That was what he needed. Not about himself, per say, but about the Professor's character. He had to know he could trust him. But after what had happened this morning, he wasn't exactly in a trusting mood. 4th period came soon enough, with Mrs. Anderson ranting on and on about parts of speech, calling out notes to take on conjunctions and articles. Luke stared out the window in his seat, even more absent-minded than usual. He'd came around to the idea of going to the school. He liked the idea of getting an actual mutant teacher.

If Luke could learn how to do more than just push things around from a distance or spin them up, then that'd be awesome. He'd already expanded what little he had. He could fall from heights and simply slow his descent down with pushes. He could jump higher by using pushes. If he tried hard enough, Luke could even push something towards himself, instead of away. It was exactly pulling, but it was similar enough for him to let it lie. So maybe Xavier could teach him something new. Or maybe he would just teach Luke some way to keep his powers from hurting so much. Every time he used his power with a motion, like a flick of his wrist, it hurt. Like a burning sensation beneath his skin, tearing at his muscles.

Distracted as he was by his thoughts of what he could learn, Luke failed to hear the nearly suppressed _clack_ of heels. When Mrs. Anderson lashed out with her ruler, as per normal in her class, she had honestly expected Luke to avoid it as he normally did. Instead, it hit his head with an audible _crack. _The students in the class whipped around in there seats to see Luke still sitting there starring out the window, but Mrs. Anderson gave it away. She had already jerked the ruler back, but the redness on her face showed a great mixture of embarrassment, guilt, and a little bit of anger. Luke slowly turned his head and stared at the woman blankly.

"Please tell me that you did not just hit me upside the head like it was a damn baseball. Please tell me you didn't so I won't have to go to the office again today."

"That wouldn't of happened if you were paying attention."

The nerve of this woman! She was defending herself after she just knocked the crap out of him with her ruler? Luke smiled in a sickly sweet way at her, before grabbing his bag off the floor and standing up. He walked out of the door as she followed him into the hallway, grabbing onto his arm and forcefully turning him around, which surprised Luke with how strong she was.

"Look, I apologize for hitting you like that. It was uncalled for, but I never expected you to actually get hit by it. What's got you so distracted today that you didn't avoid it?"

Luke looked around the hallway, looking for anything to look at besides her. He hated looking at her. Not because she was ugly, but because if he started looking, he'd wind up staring. That was the last thing he wanted.

"I'm moving."

One small eyebrow was quirked at the statement, but his teacher didn't act surprised at all.

"So you decided to go to Xavier's school after all? Good for you. He'll teach you a lot there."

Even though his mind was already explaining it logically, the brown-haired mutant asked anyways.

"How'd you know about Xavier?"

"I went there myself."

'_Whoa! Didn't see that coming. So my English teacher is a mutant too and she's learned under the Professor as well. Maybe she'll tell me what to expect_.' Luke thought to himself, hoping all his past insults and snide comments to his favorite teacher didn't ruin his chances for getting information out of her.

"What's it like?"

A small smile seeped onto her face, taking full advantage of her position over Luke. He was only here for one more hour, so she might as well lord over him for a little. Payback and all that.

"Oh, you know. You go there, do exercises to exert control until you finally have it, then you do whatever."

'_Really? Could she be more bland and boring when talking? Does she even do that on purpose or is it natural?'_

"So what can you do? And what was Xavier like?"

The honest look in Luke's eyes when asking the question, even when he wasn't looking at her, made her stop jerking him around. She was too kindhearted to do that for very long anyways.

"I'm a sensor mutant. I can other mutants in vision and determine their level of abilities, as well as their potential. That was how Xavier found you and knew you were Omega material. I told him. As for how he runs his school and treat his mutants, he already told you. He won't force you to do anything you don't want to do and will do whatever is in his power to help you. Xavier is a kind man, he's not using you. You can trust him."

Reassurance. He found it. Who would've ever thought his teacher that he constantly picked on and tormented would be tell him the most reassuring thing he'd ever heard. It made him wonder why he treated her like that. He did that to everyone, but she was the only one who bothered to put up with and he still treated her the same as everyone else.

'_I'm such a jerk_.' Luke complained internally, before smiling at his teacher and thanking her. He ran his hand through his hair, an old habit of his, and found something that made him mock glare at his teacher.

"You left a knot! How hard were you swinging that stupid ruler?"

She just laughed softly and opened the door back to the classroom and gestured for him to come inside. He did with a grin, happy know that he knew what he was doing. He had something to look forward to. No more doing odd jobs for kicks and giggles. No more risking his life for someone he'd never met before. He was going to go learn from a mutant institute until he could control his ability, his gift, his curse.

* * *

><p>Luke's Apartment - 3: 17<p>

"Hello? Is this Xavier's School for Gifted Youngster's? Xavier spoke to me this morning and told me to call if I made a decision to enroll."

"_Hold on one second, let me patch you through to Xavier's personal line."_ A woman spoke over the phone. A girl actually. She sounded excited, even though she talked like a secretary. Luke heard the sound of a phone receiver being picked up and heard the Professor talk.

"_Good to hear from you, Luke. You've come to a decision then, I assume?"_

"Yeah, I've decided to take you up on your offer and enroll. Why didn't you tell me that Mrs. Anderson was your student at one time? I would've agreed right away if I knew she trusted you."

"_She wanted to inform you herself. And now that you've agreed to enroll, I'll send the Blackbird to come get you right away." _

"The Blackbird? You mean a plane? Your school has a plane? Why didn't you tell me that? That's another thing that would've made me join quicker!" The shock was evident in the string of questions.

Luke stared at the phone in his hand, almost as if he could see the man on the other side. Owning a personal plane was no small matter. Even with all that he had been left by his dad, he doubted he could afford a plane. And for a school for mutants to have one, then Xavier must've been richer than he thought.

"_We do try to accommodate any possible needs of reaching other mutants, and that does include travel. It's not exactly something we could put on the brochure, but I assure you that the school has the state of the art technologies to help students. I've spared no expenses." _

"Well thank you very much Professor. That saves me a lot of gas money. What time should I expect you at the airport?"

"We'll be there in 2 hours, I'd imagine. That's plenty of time to pack and make sure you have everything you need. As for your motorcycle, I'd suggest you order a U-haul trailer and send it to our address."

"I'll do that. Thank you again, Professor Xavier."

Hanging up the phone and leaning back against his couch in thought, Luke wondered about how the school financed itself. '_A personal jet. A freakin' jet!_' It amazed Luke that he was going to a school that advanced, just to teach him how to control his powers. He was looking forward to it. But he had to pack first. Groaning and walking into his room, Luke pulled out his bags and started putting away everything he was going to take with him.

* * *

><p>Northwest Airlines - 5:30 - Virginia<p>

Luke waited at the terminal as a man in a wheelchair rolled out of the terminal and waved to him. Grabbing his stuff and rolling through the terminal hallway to the plane, he greeted his new mentor.

"Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon as well to you, Luke. I'm sure your day has been pleasant since I last saw you?"

"Yeah, it's been a pretty good one."

Small talk was never his forte, but Luke carried on talking as they got situated on the plane, which was quite large and spacious. Once the plane was sealed of and started down the runway, Xavier turned to his new student and asked "Have you ever flown before?"

"No." To say Luke was a little apprehensive would be an understatement, but Luke knew that falling felt good to him, so why wouldn't flying? The nervous feeling in the bottom of his stomach diminished as soon as he felt the plane lift the ground and a feeling of heightened strength emerged. Being airborne made Luke feel great. Xavier watched his pupil and took note of his joy when they increased altitude.

"Luke, what exactly do you think your powers are and what can you do with them? I want to know what I'm working with."

Luke scrunched his face a little, before describing everything he could that was relevant to his powers.

"My powers allow me to move things with motion, even if I'm not touching them. I could push something from across the room as long as I made the proper gesture or motion for it. I can push, pull, and spin things harder than I could with just my physical strength, but whenever I use my powers, the muscles I use to make the motion with hurt, like they've been in a meat grinder. It heals back pretty quickly, but the more power put into the motion, the more it hurts."

"How much can you move?" Xavier pressed, already concerned. It wasn't the first time he had seen a mutation hurt a mutant, but it was always tricky to solve. Not impossible, but solutions like that were never perfect.

"I don't know. I've moved a car before with it, but that was the most I've ever done. I'm not sure how much more weight I could actually move."

"Tell me more about the car. How far did you push it and what distance you were?"

"I didn't push the car. I flipped it. I was about 5 feet away and it rolled from it's tire's to the roof. All in a flick of the wrist. But I couldn't use my hand for a while cause it hurt too much." Luke had spent a week using his left hand instead of his right. The muscle had healed, but it was so sore that he couldn't properly use it. He'd never attempted to do anything like that again, and fortunately, he never had to.

Charles didn't let any expressions show on his face as he thought to himself. '_A mutant that tears his own muscles using his powers. And he's potentially Omega class as well. He's a big threat to others just as much as himself.'_

"Have you ever attempted to fly? Do you imagine that to be in your repertoire?"

"Flying? No, I've never seen myself doing that. I can slow myself when falling, but that is it. Flying would be a constant use of my powers and that would be bad. Getting 50 feet in the air and passing out from pain wouldn't be good at all."

"I see. You know your limits well, I'd imagine. You've been working underground for a while now, haven't you?"

"A few years. It's taught me a lot. I learned I had a healing factor because of that." '_I learned it the hard way.' _Luke told the Professor. "It's not very fast except for with my muscles. Everything else heals back in a couple of days." '_Learned that the hard way too.'_

Luke prodded at his nose, testing to see how far the healing process had come along. It still hurt like the dickens, but at least it wasn't squirting out blood. Xavier nodded, adding the info into his calculations, his mind running through countless details and ideas.

"So what are your powers? You never did say."

Slightly off guard by the sudden personal question, Xavier smiled and informed his student.

"I'm a telepath, a very powerful one, if I say so myself. I use my abilities along with Cerebro, a machine that amplifies my powers, to sense other mutants. When I sensed you, I called Rebecca and asked her to keep an eye on you. She did and informed me if you would be a good recruit. Some mutants only want power, but she saw good character in you."

A grin split his face when he thought of Mrs. Anderson. '_Rebecca, huh? If only I'd have known that when she was still my teacher. I could've picked on her some more. That makes me wonder what kind of good character she saw in me. It certainly wasn't humility, politeness, kindness. I was a jackass every day in her class.'_

* * *

><p>Airspace over Bayville - 7:42 - New York<p>

The flight was over before Luke knew it, with the conversation between him and Xavier keeping him occupied. The man was very curious about his student, but he didn't push very far. Luke didn't explain his situation or history, which was good. He hated talking about it.

The two were informed by their mysterious female pilot that they were arriving at the school shortly and to prepare for touchdown. Luke glanced at the bald man as if to ask who the pilot was, and was answered by "Storm, who is one of your teachers here. You may call her Mrs. Ororo whenever you're not in a session or in public."

"We get codenames? That's so sweet! What's mine gonna be?" This school just got better and better in Luke's eyes. They got to use their powers, get codenames, and still go to school. What else would they have, jumpsuits?

"All of the students and staff here have names that we go by whenever we're training or on missions. You'll be assigned one whenever you finish your demonstration of what all you can do. But that'll be later. Everyone will introduce themselves to you when we arrive. Right now there are 4 students and two staff, including Storm."

"That's cool. Are any of them my age?" Making friends was definitely on his to do list when he got to the school.

"You're the youngest of them all, but only by months. You should fit right in."

'_Here's hoping' _Luke thought to himself as he felt the plane begin to descend. Gripping the armrests on the seat until he felt the plane finally stop, the mutant let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"That wasn't so bad."

Getting up from his seat and exiting the now open hatch door with Xavier, who had slipped into his wheelchair absurdly fast, Luke was introduced to his pilot, a tall dark-skinned woman with regal features. She had abnormal white hair and blue eyes, but Luke didn't comment. He'd seen weirder stuff before, so why question it now? The trio journeyed to an elevator that took them upstairs into what looked more like a mansion than a school.

'_This is a really cool place. This has got to be the nicest place I've been in without busting a window or breaking a lock_.'

Gazing around and soaking in his new environment, Luke followed along as he was led into the foyer, where the other mutants had assembled. Luke looked over the crowd, starting with the gruff, short, burly man standing in the back. Did he have blue hair? Next was a tall kid dressed in slacks, a green sweater, and some red tinted shades. The red head gave off the appearance of a stickler, but Luke was already praying that wasn't the case. Another red head, a girl this time, stood right next to the boy. She was pretty, also tall, and dressed in jeans and a shirt that showed her midriff. Odd, but he could live with it. The last person on the stairway was another girl, short and with brown hair. She was cute in a Barbie kinda way. She dressed in brand clothes and even from here Luke could feel her hollow noggin. Luke smiled at them all before realizing something was off.

'_There's only 3 students. Where's the 4__th__?'_

Right on cue, a blue furry person dropped from the overhead chandelier, landing flatfooted and waving hello to his new fellow student. Unfortunately for him, Luke didn't see the greeting as just that, and reacted on instinct when he jerked his arm up and sent the blue mutant flying up the stairs. Despite being caught unaware, the fuzzy mutant used his powers and vanished in a loud '**Bamf**' of smoke and reappeared right in front of Luke, his arms held out placating. The Professor had already grabbed hold of Luke's arm, preventing him from reacting on instinct again. But instead of a violent reaction, Luke patted the blue guy in front of him on the shoulder and apologized for overreacting.

"My bad, man. You surprised me. I didn't mean to knock you around any." Luke said, looking the sneaky mutant up and down. The boy really was nothing but fur, with three digits on each appendage instead of 5, and he even sported a tail, which was very active from the way it swung to and fro.

"It is quite alright. It is vat you American's call an accident, no?" His German accent was the freakin' bomb! Luke was gonna love talkin' with this dude.

"Dude, your accent is killer! What's your name? Oh, my bad. I guess I should introduce myself first, since I'm the new guy."

Luke stepped back from the furry teen and looked to his new housemates.

"My name is Luke Hensley. What's up guys?"

A chorus of "Hello" and "Hey" responded back, before the Professor pointed to the scruffy man in the back.

"Why don't you introduce yourself first, Logan? The kids can follow after you."

The man grunted a little before stepping forward and introduced himself as quickly as possible.

"Like Charles said, I'm Logan. I run the DR sessions around here, which I'm sure you'll find out about soon enough. When we are in session you will call me Wolverine. Understood?"

A nod of his head satisfied the grouch, who slouched off back down a hallway. '_Ain't he a ball of sunshine_?'

The sunglasses wearing teen stepped up next. "My name is Scott Summers. I'm 17 going on 18 and a senior at Bayville."

The other red head stepped up and introduced herself. Luke recognized her voice as the girl over the phone. "My name is Jean Gray. I'm 18 and a senior. I'm also part of the soccer team at school too. Nice to have you here."

The fuzzy one, Luke's personal favorite out of all his housemates, stepped forward and pointed to himself with what Luke assumed to be his thumb. "I'm Kurt Wagner. You can call me the fuzzy one. I'm just starting school at Bayville as a Junior. I think we are going to be good friends!"

Luke laughed at the over-excited teen's introduction and watched as the last one, the Barbie girl, stepped up. "Well, like, hey. I'm Katherine Pryde, but you can just call me Kitty. I'm a Sophomore at school."

"Ok. I think I remembered all that. You're Jean, right?" Luke said with a straight face looking at Scott. For a single tense second, Luke thought the room was going to blow, but when he let out a week chuckle and corrected himself, the tension eased.

'_Yep, he's a stickler_.' Kitty and Kurt both giggled and Jean smiled, but Scott didn't budge.

"So…What do you guys do around here? And is there somewhere to eat at?" Luke flashed a quick smile towards the two younger kids, hoping to squeeze them into a tour of the place. Both volunteered for it right away, although Kitty didn't seem to happy to share the responsibility with Kurt. Apparently she was still freaked out by his blue fur, tail, and three digits. '_She must be a new mutant. Otherwise she would be used to things like that.' _

Luke followed the two around as the pointed out things like the rec room, the hallway were all of the rooms were at, the library, the Professor's study, and finally the kitchen. Man was Luke happy to see that room. The trio stopped to grab a bite to eat and talk a little more about themselves.

Luke finished his second sandwich and Dr. Pepper, before turning to his fellow mutants. "I'm gonna turn in for the night. Kurt, could you help me with my bags and show me my room?" The blue guy was happy to oblige. The mutants finally settled into his room, which was blank and empty in an intentional way, leaving plenty of space for Luke to personalize for the duration of his stay. But now he needed sleep.

* * *

><p>McDonald's - 10:44 - Virginia<p>

The two occupants of the corner table stared at each other, keeping their faces as blank as they could. The woman on the right side keeping an eye on her watch and other customers, the teen to the left watching her. As soon as her clock showed 10:45, she got up and left the table, with the young man following her wordlessly. The two went and got into a black car that had it's windows tinted past the legal limit. The owner certainly didn't care. As soon as the two were inside, she turned to the passenger with cold eyes before giving her orders.

"In the glove compartment, there is a vanilla file. In it, is the location of your target and any specifics you should need. Take care of him. For good. He's a mutant like you, so don't let your guard down. He's strong enough to beat up some of the local scum without serious injury. Do you have a problem with this?"

"None whatsoever. As long as I get paid, this one is in the bag. Anything you want me to bring back as proof? His head, a finger?"

If the woman was appalled by the suggestions, she didn't show it in the slightest. In fact, a devilish grin came to her face as she gave him his one last order.

"Bring me his blood. As much of it as you can."

With that, he stepped out of the car and into his own, a monster of a truck. Opening the file and scanning over it, he closed it and grinned to himself.

"Luke Hensley, you are a dead man."

* * *

><p>Xavier's Mansion - 6:20 - New York<p>

The early morning was a peaceful and tranquil part of Mother Nature's cycle. The birds started singing, the flowers opened to the rising sun, and people could rest easy in there beds. Unless they were mutants that had morning sessions in the DR room with Logan.

Luke had slept like it would be his last time too, not stirring at the alarm that went off 20 minutes ago. He would've stayed asleep if not for a short but wide stature man bursting through the door and nearly screaming at him to get his ass in the DR right away. Luke hardly heard any of it, but he knew that it was time to get in gear. Grabbing some sweatpants and a shirt, Luke tugged his shoes on and ran after Logan, who hasn't waiting on him.

The two made there way to the elevator and rode down in uneasy silence. The man looked feral enough to gut Luke were he stood, but he refrained for some reason. Once arriving, Luke was pushed forward down the hallway he had come up the day before, into what looked like a locker room. An open locker was in front of him with a black and gray suit with a X emblem emblazoned on the front.

"Is that mine?" Luke turned to ask Logan, but the man was gone. Grabbing the suit and changing into it quickly, Luke peered out into the hallway, lost and unsure of where to go, but was saved when Kurt '**Bamf**'ed right in front of him. Thank goodness he wasn't awake enough to be surprised by the mutant's sudden appearance.

"Come on, Luke, this way. Logan's mad enough at you already. No need to make it worse."

Kurt tugged Luke down the hallway and through a door into a giant chamber of a room. It was several stories high, which made Luke wonder how far down the elevator went. The room was lined with panels and looked very high-tech, but Luke couldn't figure out what the purpose of the room was.

"Welcome to the Danger Room, slowpoke. About time you got here." Logan's voice still carried all of it's gruffness over the microphone.

"Which one of you was supposed to make sure he knew where to go and make sure he got here on time? Someone better step up or the entire team is doing an extra session."

Logan was badgering someone for not getting Luke up and taking him here. He understood that much. But what was here? What were they doing?"

Kurt stepped up and admitted his mistake. Logan chided him on how that could be dangerous in a real situation, but didn't actually assign any other kind of punishment to him, which was what Luke expected. Instead, Luke heard a rumbling sound and watched in amazement as a labyrinth of walls came forth from the ground, and as turrets popped out of the sides of the room.

"This exercise is toned down a little because of the new kid. But same rules apply. Get to the other side of the labyrinth in one piece. Start!"

Looking around bewildered, Luke saw Kurt disappear in a cloud of thick smoke, while Kitty ran forward and walked through the walls. Jean was holding a hand to her temple as she floated her and Scott above the walls and into the air, while Scott started blasting red beams from an eyepiece on his suit to destroy the turrets. Luke watched as he got left farther and farther behind before coming up with his own idea.

'_The Professor said I should be able to fly. Let's see about temporary bursts.'_

Luke eyed the top of the wall and crouched down, building up his power in his leg muscles. Launching forward and jumping higher than any normal person could, Luke soared over the wall and was about to start falling, but her used a burst from his arms to propel him higher and forward. His legs were slowly coming back to him after dangling like spaghetti noodles before. The pain was setting in, but he had been through worse. Luke used tiny bursts from various parts of his body, even things like breathing, to steer himself to land on top of a wall and perch there. Taking a breather, Luke saw the others surge ahead. Kurt had already finished, with Kitty not far behind. Jean and Scott were closing in on the end too. All that was left was him.

Suddenly, Luke heard a whirring noise and jerked around to see a cannon that Scott hadn't blown to smithereens looking right back at him. Pushing himself off the wall right when it started shooting yellow spheres at a high velocity, Luke pushed as hard as he could to get some distance. He rocketed forward, but nearly lost control of his body as the pain started racking up. His eyes were getting hazy and he didn't see the giant wall looming in front of him till it was to late to do anything. Hitting the wall with a resounding smack, Luke started falling without control, plummeting to a painful wake-up whenever he did wake up, when he felt something under him. It wasn't a solid feeling, but it was holding him none the less. He looked up to see Storm, white hair tossing every which way and her eyes white as marble, concentrating on him. Luke felt himself lower and watched the wall recede into the ground. When he hit the floor, everything went black.

* * *

><p>Med Bay - 8:31 - Xavier Mansion<p>

Waking up in a solid white room that you don't recognize is bad. Waking up in a solid white room that you don't recognize while in pain is worse. A groan escaped Luke as he opened his eyes and tried to take in his surroundings. '_A hospital? No, it's to small and nice for a hospital. And there aren't bald guys in wheelchairs in hospitals.'_

"That's not exactly a nice thing to call your first visitor, Luke."

"Sorry. Where am I, Professor? Did you guys put me in a hospital, cause I swear I'll be fine as long as I get some sleep."

"You're in our med bay. While you were unconscious I looked into how your powers worked from past memories and I knew that you would be fine. But when you said that your powers hurt you, you never inclined to me that they were as bad as this. There were some memories of your powers that were so painful that I couldn't go through them without some of the pain overlapping."

Luke weakly raised his arm to his head to rub his hair. "I'm getting used to it. My powers don't hurt near as bad as when I first started using them."

"When was that?"

"When I was 7."

Charles stopped talking after this for a moment, thinking to himself. He started back with a light smile and told Luke "At least you don't have to start school today. I'll have you enrolled by tomorrow and you can start then. I'll let you get your rest, but I want you to know that the others were disciplined for leaving you behind from the start to figure it out on your own. Next time they'll know better."

"What'd you have them do?" Luke asked, almost feeling bad for them. It wasn't entirely their fault he was incompetent in getting there on his own.

"They had to do the same thing with no powers and the turrets didn't shoot just tennis balls."

"Tennis balls? You mean that I got so worked up over being shot by a cannon with a tennis ball that I threw myself across the room?"

"They smart. And there was no need in using something as dangerous as bowling balls."

Luke laughed, despite his body aching with each chuckle. He leaned back into his pillow and said with a sleepy smile. "See ya later, Professor." Charles smiled and wheeled himself out of the room as his newest student drifted back to la-la land.

* * *

><p>Outside the Mansion<p>

Sitting in a tree in the forest surrounding the mansion was the same teen from Virginia, observing the mansion from afar with binoculars. '_So this is were the freak stays at. It looks like a whole school for losers like him. Oh well, I can catch him by himself, rip his head off, then bring a couple gallons of blood back to that witch for my money.'_

Setting the binoculars down and into his backpack full of supplies, the teen crouched down for a second, before he was gone, bouncing through the woods at speeds hard to see with the naked eye. '_I'll be back for the runt before he knows what's up, and then it'll be curtains.'_

* * *

><p>AN: Well guys, I gotta admit. I have a case of the gitters. I got three reviews! 3 freakin' reviews! And they were nice too. So I'm glad you guys like the story and I want you to know I'm working on it as much as I can. I'm setting up my update schedule to something along the lines of updating every time I finish the next chapter. I've already started on the next chapter by the time you read this, so you guys should see an update at least once a week if I can whip myself into shape.<p>

About the story, well, things are looking up for Luke. He's got friends, a day off from school, pain, and a hit man. Me, on the other hand, I get to introduce one of my favorite OC I've ever come up with. Next chapter will fully introduce him and things will start kickin' off! Chapter name comes from a T.I. song. And before I forget, shout out to my helper minion/servant, Dog of the World. He checked over and did all the beta stuff for me. So if you see a mistake, send him some flames. I hope you guys continue to enjoy and I'll see ya later. Big Willis, out!


	3. Heavy

AN: Here we go! Off on another misadventure with our new hero. After the last chapter, I hope that you guys are figuring out what exactly Luke's power is. It's not very complex, otherwise I wouldn't be able to come up with it. Also of note, Luke was inserted after the X-Impulse episode.

Either way, let me go ahead and disclaim this compilation of junk so I can keep my 3 dollars and 94 cents safe from lawyers. We all know that they would take it if they could. Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of it's characters or ideas used in this story. I only own my OC characters. Or do they own me?

Chapter 3

Heavy

Waking up a second time was a much more pleasant experience. Knowing where he was and not being in pain probably had a large part in that. Plus, he had guests. That was nice too.

The teen mutants had all agreed after their extra DR session that they would go visit Luke to apologize. After all, Logan had drilled it into their heads repeatedly not to leave teammates behind, but they had completely overlooked Luke when that exercise started. So now they were all standing around his bed, with looks that ranged from embarrassment to sympathy.

"You guys didn't have to. There's no hard feelings. It was my fault for not being able to make it on my own anyways."

Scott rubbed his head nervously at this. Luke didn't know that the team hadn't changed the difficulty down from the last time they had done the exercise. The turrets, while not deadly, were still on their hardest difficulty in accuracy and speed. Plus, they hadn't exactly planned for Luke. From the obvious strain he put into staying airborne, his powers weren't flight-oriented. Luke had been flying blind with what was expected of him and what everyone else was doing and could do.

Jean spoke up, interrupting the team leader's thoughts. "We should've been watching out for you. You're our teammate and we didn't even bother to get to know you before we left. We should've at least made sure that you knew what was going on before we left, but I guess we all thought that someone else would do it."

Luke laughed a little, easing himself up from his flat position and making sure he wasn't still sore. He wasn't much to his surprise. Normally after all of that power usage, he'd be sore for at least a day or so.

"How long was I out?"

"About 11 hours. It's close to 5 right now." Kurt said, checking his fancy looking watch.

"Alright. Well while you guys are all in here and I don't have anything else to do, why don't you guys tell me what you can do? That way I can know what to expect next time. And I guess I could tell you what I can do first. It was my idea after all."

The group brightened up after the suggestion. Luke seemed to have already forgiven them.

"What I do is almost like telekinesis, except it's not a mental power. I use a bodily motion to move things with a gray force. The strength of the force is dependent on the force emitted from the motion. I can push, pull, and spin things with my powers. When I was trying to float, I was just pushing off of the ground below. The thing about my powers though, is that after I use them, the muscles I use for the motion tear and hurt. It's hard to continue concentrating with my powers whenever that starts, which is why I dropped like a rock after a while. I have a healing factor that regenerates the muscles quickly, but I'm still sore afterwards. It's a pain, literally, but it's useful."

There was a discomfort in the room after Luke finished explaining, as if the mutants in the room weren't use to the idea of mutations causing the user actual pain with every use. More than likely, they all had powers that were easy to use and control. Scott cleared his throat and started explaining his own gift, going first because he was the leader of the small group of mutants. Lead by example and all that.

"My eyes emit an optic blast whenever I open them. It's like having constant laser vision. The only thing that blocks the blast is red quartz, like my sunglasses and visor. So don't mess with my glasses!" Scott finished his explanation with a mock glare. Maybe he did have a sense of humor somewhere.

Luke mentally crossed '_stealing sunglasses_' off of his pranks list. He'd have to get more conniving than that. Jean stepped up after Scott had stepped aside, before starting her self-explanation.

"I have telekinesis and a mild touch of telepathy as well. I'm still working with the Professor on getting full control of my abilities, but he says that I'm getting pretty strong with them. I can use them to fly and levitate other people, to make barriers, or to do practically anything." Jean finished her explanation by lifting a lamp off the tableside near the bed, setting it back gently.

Kurt stepped forward, with his goofy smile on his face, waving his tail happily. "I'm sure you already have figured out what I can do, but I can teleport at will and climb most anything. And with this cool watch the Professor gave me, I can disguise myself as a normal person." Pressing a button on the side of the watch, the blue fuzzy Kurt disappeared and was replaced by a skinny kid with blue hair and dressed in baggy clothes. Luke tilted his head to the side, trying to find Kurt's tail, but it was gone.

"So that's how you go to school! The Professor said you guys went today, but I never thought about how you would go. That's so cool man. I bet you're glad to have it."

Kurt nodded and smiled, but Luke could tell that the smile wasn't real. Then it hit Luke how bad what he had said might hurt Kurt's feelings. After all, out of a house of mutants, he had the most apparent mutation.

"Not that you need it or anything. You look awesome as a blue monkey. A real party animal."

Kurt brightened his smile considerably at this. Stepping aside for the youngest on the team, Kurt flipped a thumbs up, or what looked like one due to his finger situation, and '**Bamf**'ed out of the room, leaving behind a cloud of smoke and the smell of sulfur.

"He like totally left that part out about his powers. He leaves behind that horrible smell and smoke too."

Kitty remarked, glaring at the spot Kurt had just vacated, before turning to face Luke with a smile. _'Yeah, she really doesn't like Kurt at all. I hope she gets over her fear quickly for both her and Kurt's sake.'_

"Anyways, I can phase through things if I concentrate hard enough. I only recently discovered my powers and it's like still new to me and everything."

Luke nodded his head before saying "I could tell. You don't act as confident of your powers as the others do."

Again, he realized how bad that sounded after it came out of his mouth. If he kept this up, it was going to be just like his old school, except he'd have to live with them. He corrected himself quickly, by adding "But that comes with time. Before long, you'll be strutting through things without a care in the world."

She giggled again at this, but Scott tapped her shoulder and jerked his head towards the door, a silent dismissal. The three remaining mutants left the med bay so Luke could rest in peace again. Luke wouldn't have it and quickly got up, wincing every now and then when he found a still sore spot on his body. Luckily, they hadn't changed him into a stinkin' hospital gown or something like that. He hated those things.

Leaving the room and setting off down the hallway in hopes of finding his housemates, he soon became lost. No footsteps were heard, no talking or anything for him to recognize. It looked like he was in the above ground of the mansion, but he wasn't sure.

"Hello? Anyone around?"

"Luke, are you sure that you should be up so quickly?"

After jumping high enough for his head to scrape the ceiling and turned to sheepishly look back to see the Professor watching him, amused by his reaction. The man had rolled up silently in his wheelchair, as impossible as it seemed in Luke's mind. '_That takes talent. Dude is rollin' in it.'_ A small snicker at his sad little joke got a curious glance from the telepath, but thankfully he didn't question it.

"I'm fine, Professor. A little sore, but fine. I told you my healing powers healed my muscles quick. From there, I'm operational, if a little uncomfortable."

The man nodded, before asking "Well, since you're right next to my office, we could go and talk. I'm quite curious about your history, if you're willing to elaborate. Maybe I could understand just how your powers work if you were to explain how you first used. That, or you could eat supper first."

A tad bit of apprehension rested on Luke for a moment, before he answered. "Let's go ahead and get it done. I'll eat later."

The man turned and went back down the hall, with Luke following him while trying to familiarize himself with the area. Luke recognized the area right when they got to the door of Xavier's study. The two entered, with the man rolling behind the table and Luke sliding into on of the comfy chairs in front of it. The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, before Luke broke it.

"What exactly did you want to know about me again?"

"The situation that your powers emerged. For them to emerge at such an early age usually requires a very emotional experience. I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, but if you are willing, I'm sure it will help me understand your powers better. If you want to leave out the people involved, that's fine. I just want your physical actions, your emotional state, and any thoughts that were dominant in your head."

'_That's kinda asking a lot, isn't it? Oh well, let's see what I remember.'_

"I was 7. 4 whole weeks before I turned 8. I remember because there was always a silly calendar tacked up in my room. I was home, watching TV while Hailey was coloring a purple elephant. Hailey is my half-sister, by the way." Luke said, clarifying for the telepath, who was just about to ask.

"Nothing good was on, so I was just flipping through the channels when my mom came home. After an argument, I wound up being locked in my room for the night. I threw a temper tantrum and before I knew it, I was bleeding out of my mouth and my favorite toy truck, the kind you wind back and they roll forward, was halfway through the wood in the door. Mom was furious, but she took me to the hospital anyways. The doctors cleaned me up and ran a whole battery of tests on me, but they never found the problem. In the end they concluded that it was a valve leak in my heart that went to my lungs and coughed it all up before the valve sealed it back up. The good news made Mom even more mad because she had to pay for all of those useless tests. After that, it would start happening whenever she made me mad. A pout in the grocery store would cause cans to fly off the shelves and me to hurt, but Mom never took me back to the hospital after that."

Charles didn't say a word, watching Luke carefully as he told his story. A very mild telepathic link between the two showed Charles the emotions held behind the words, as well as some of Luke's stronger thoughts. Most of them weren't nice thoughts, especially the ones that involved his mother. When it seemed Luke was finished with his story, Xavier asked carefully "When did you start consciously using your powers?"

Luke's face paled as he glanced at the clock, then back to the patiently waiting listener. "I was 10. Can we go get something to eat now? I guess I'm kinda hungry after all that power-napping."

Before the mutant could answer, a knock was heard at the door. A quick "Come in." revealed Kitty at the door, a nervous look on her face.

"Um, Professor, we have a serious problem. Luke's not in the med bay and we haven't found him in the mansion. What should we do?"

"He's been here with me for a while now, Kitty. Don't worry. We're just about to go eat supper if you'd like to join us."

The girl quickly examined the room, finding a still pale Luke standing up from his seat.

"Oh, there you are. I guess I got the others worked up over nothing. Are you sure you should be up and everything. You looked bad hurt in the med bay."

Was that concern in her voice? It was a scary thought to Luke. _'I've been here for one full day and she's worried. I'm not gonna fit in around here with all these soft-hearted people. I'm too big an ass.'_

"I'm fine. A little hungry, but I think we can fix that. So are you coming or what?"

She nodded, and the trio of mutants made for the door, when Logan appeared, looking more distracted than normal for him. The look itself made Luke wonder what in the world could trouble a man as rough as Logan. Whatever it was clearly didn't trouble him enough to make him any less abrasive.

"Hey, Charles. You and me need to talk for a minute. You pip-squeaks scram!" Kitty certainly did, but Luke nearly stood his ground and protested, seeing he was a fair bit taller than Logan, but a strong tugging on his arm from Kitty lead him out of the room, which was quickly shut off afterwards.

Turning to his arm's current captive, he questioned "Does he ever become any less… What's the word I'm looking for? I can't swear cause I get the feeling that Xavier would probably flip a wig if I did. What else could describe Logan?"

Kitty laughed a little, which Luke was starting to find annoying that she laughed at everything, before answering "No, he's pretty much always like that. But deep down, I get the feeling he's a big old softie. You should see him around Storm. He's as docile as a lamb."

'_Maybe a wolf in a lamb's skin. That man's more of a fighter than most of those monsters I saw in Frankfort. And those guys nearly ripped a guy in half!'_ Luke thought to himself. He was uneasy around Logan, as the man had an aura to him that Luke only felt in mutants who didn't need a reason to start attacking like animals. If not for sheer luck and his healing factor, then Luke would have a worse scars than what he did.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he asked the girl "What do you wanna eat?"

* * *

><p>Back in Xavier's study<p>

The man in the wheel chair intertwined his fingers as he watched the beast-like man pace the floor. It was indeed troubling that Logan was this disturbed by whatever news he had found. Logan wasn't the kind of person to get worried over a drop of rain.

"We've got someone on the grounds, Charles. I caught their scent this afternoon, a few hours old. I tried to follow it, but it would vanish from one place, then reappear a good bit away. Our defenses never even activated to the presence. And I can't help but feel it's more than just a coincident that this is happening right after we get the new kid in our mansion. I told you that the kid could be bad news because of his line of work. He could bring an army here for all we know about the kid."

"I assure you that Luke as not intentionally brought anyone else to the mansion. He is of good conscience and what little I've discerned from his mind is positive, or at least not detrimental. He's not a model teen, or even a good one, but he has a good heart. He truly did want to leave his previous line of work behind. Did I tell you about when I first met him?"

Logan shook his head negative, staring out of the window and into the tree line, watching for intruders.

"He had a broken nose from being hit by a baseball bat. He had been jumped by thugs after completing a job for a client. Apparently, she wanted to tie up lose ends. But the results of her attempt shook Luke's faith in his ability, as well as his faith in other clients. He was going to quit, regardless of whether or not we offered the school to him. And he needs to be here. For him to be able to beat up goons like that with only a broken nose is pretty considerable for someone with no formal training. And according to Rebecca, he still has much more potential to unlock. If you are willing, I'm going to assign him personal time with you to develop his powers. Since they have such a physical aspect to them, I figured you would be the best to help."

"Fine. I'll take care of the runt in my spare time. But he better shape up quick, because Storm looked eager to teach him how to fly. Apparently Jean learned how quicker than Storm wanted, because she had planned out another month's worth of lessons."

Xavier nodded, before entertaining the notion he had before. "We'll set the defense system on full alert tonight to see if the intruder comes back. But for now, I say we go eat. What do you think?"

A grunt answered him as the two made their way to what once the kitchen. Right now it was a mess. Everyone else was already there and had made their food, with it ranging from ramen, to Chef Boyardee, to a hamburger. Logan smelled the grease off of an empty container of fries in the garbage and glanced at Kurt. He was going to regret eating junk food the next morning when he had to run all of those sessions in the DR.

Storm, Jean, and Scott were all at the table, enjoying their meal with small talk and peace. Luke and Kitty were sitting at the counter, with Luke eating his sandwich and trying to pay attention to Kitty's explanation on how boring her biology class was. Kitty had a bowl of cereal in front of her, but was simply pushing it around in the milk as she talked. Kurt was overhead, hanging over the light fixture by his tail while he ate what looked to be his 3rd fast food burger judging by the wrappers on the countertop. Wendy's was addicting.

The two men looked at each other before they both made their way to the table. Logan sat down and snagged the last chicken nugget off of Ororo's plate, much to her displeasure. Scott caught on to the game and sneakily grabbed one off of Jean's plate as well. When Jean noticed her missing nugget, she blamed that on Logan, who was now in the middle of two angry mutants. Despite the situation, the Wolverine simply leaned his chair back on two legs and stared coolly back at the two women glaring at him.

Luke turned away from Kitty at the new noise coming from the table and noticed what was going on, more importantly, the two legs Logan was propped on. Lining up his finger, he made as if to flick something off his thumb and watched in satisfaction as the leg pushed forward unrepentantly, tilting Logan back farther than expected and crashing into the floor. Jumping up in half a second with unnatural reflexes, he glared at the room, testing it to see if anyone would laugh. Unfortunately Luke was the only one who misunderstood the glare as a serious threat and laughed anyways.

Furry was in the short man's eyes as he stepped forward to the young mutant, who suddenly found it wasn't funny anymore.

"You think that's funny, huh? We'll see who's laughing when you finish your DR sessions tonight, starting in 5 minutes. Xavier has already given me permission to train you personally, so be ready for your first glimpse into Hell."

With that, he prowled off out of the room, probably off to the DR now to set up some crazy hard course for Luke. As soon as he was out of earshot, Luke mumbled to himself.

"That guy needs to take a chill pill."

The supper was concluded much more mildly after that. The rest of the young mutants saw Logan's personal time with Luke as a sign saying no team DR sessions, much to their relief. They left the kitchen by patting Luke on the shoulder for taking one for the team and wishing him good luck. After that they all said thanks to the heavens for a break in DR runs. Luke finished up what little was left of his food and made his way to what he thought was the right way to the elevator. He eventually found it and made his way down, stopping at the locker rooms to change before heading to the actual Danger Room.

Logan was standing in the center of it. "Well, runt, until you get proficient at using your powers under stressful situations and even while in pain, me ad you are going to be sparring. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you, but for now, just try to survive." And with that, the man charged.

* * *

><p>Later that night<p>

Luke made his way back towards his room like a zombie. His arms felt like limp noodles made of molten lead and his legs were just as bad. Falling flat on his face when he reached his bed, he was out like a light before he knew it. But outside, one mutant was just getting his blood pumping. He was back in the trees again, after smashing what remained of a high-tech security system. Apparently, someone had been aware of his presence here this morning. But it mattered little to him, as the security system was hardly a warm-up to him.

His binoculars were in hand, as he watched over the mansion. He had already found his target's room, but much to his displeasure, he found that there were several more security defenses right under his window sill. There was no way to get close to his target from the outside undetected as long as he was in the room. Looking over the mansion for possible entry points, he didn't find a single one that would be useable. Sighing and setting his binoculars down, he glared at the institute, wishing it was part of his powers to melt things with his eyes. Turning his back to the mansion for the second time that day, the mutant hopped out of the tree branch and landed feet first in a crouch. The next second he was gone.

* * *

><p>Xavier's Mansion - Thursday morning<p>

Groaning as he rolled over to shut off the alarm, Luke checked the time on it as he pulled himself out of bed. 5:30! What in the hell was wrong with the people around here? He didn't need 2 hours to get ready for school. Luke glared at his clock and thought about going back to sleep, but then he realized why it was set for so early. The morning DR session. Luke rummaged through his drawers, still half asleep and grabbed everything he would need for the bathroom and shower, which was thankfully empty when he got there.

The shower fully woke Luke up, revealing to him all of the nasty bruises he had accumulated last night that hadn't faded away. It also reminded him how sore he was. Logan was a killer, even without trying to be. Luke could count the number of times he had hit the man without a single finger. Stepping out and finishing the rest of his morning hygiene, Luke got dressed and headed down the elevator to the locker room. Kurt and Scott were already inside the guy's half of the locker room, already in their suits. A nod to the still half-asleep boys was all the greeting they got, as Luke grabbed his suit and changed quickly in a corner.

Taking a seat on one of the benches with Scott, while Kurt sat on top of the lockers, Luke waited for the DR session to start. They still had a few minute before 6. The girls emerged from their separate part of the locker room and greeted the guys with a near silent good morning. The guys just grunted and headed to the Danger Room. Wolverine and Storm were already there, suited up and ready to go. Storm instructed them on their task for the morning.

"Now that we've seen what results from a lack of communication between teammates, let's see how you fare against the labyrinth with Wolverine and myself guarding it."

Every single mutant paled at her words. This was going to be one miserable morning. Logan grumbled to himself as the kids decided on their best course of action. The wall began to rise on Ororo's cue and the session started. It was unanimously decided that Kitty would simply run through the course and Kurt would teleport around and watch the other 3 from the ceiling. Jean was going to provide the transportation, Luke the defense, and Scott the offense. It worked rather well, until Storm rose from her spot in the maze and began pelting them with ice and the occasional lightning bolt. Kitty had already made it and Kurt was unseen on the ceiling, but Luke and Scott were having a hard time protecting Jean while she focused on getting them to safety.

But where was Wolverine? No matter how much he may not have liked having to do something he didn't want to, he was going to train the kids seriously. And for him not to be harassing the three airborne students was puzzling. But the question was soon answered when Storm used her winds to send Logan flying through the air in a tackle, aimed at Luke. Luke braced himself and was ready to shove Logan off, but when the two collided, not only did Luke not budge, but Logan immediately dropped like a stone towards the floor. Only an immense effort on Storm's part saved him from a painful fall, giving the trio enough of a distraction to get farther along. Storm set the incredibly heavy Logan down and focused again on the trio, only for a fuzzy mutant to fall on top of her and grab hold of her waist before teleporting her. Disoriented, she missed her chance to attack Kurt before he teleported away to the end. By then, the others had all made it and were waiting on the older mutants.

The session ended and the walls sank back into the ground as Wolverine and Storm made their way over to the winners, albeit slowly in the man's case. Storm gave the team their earned praise for success, but quickly turned to watch her fellow teacher still struggling to make his way over there. Staring at his least favorite teacher, Luke tried to figure out what was wrong with him.

"What's wrong with him? He looks like he's carrying an extra hundred pounds or so."

"When you and him collided in the air, did you do something to him with your powers?" Storm questioned.

"Not that I know of. When I saw him coming, I just braced myself and tried to knock him off me. Next thing I knew he was falling pretty fast. So you think I did something to make him heavier when he fell? I've never really done that before. I've made myself fall slower, but that's it. It wasn't like I pushed him, because it didn't hurt afterwards."

Storm watched him carefully, glancing over the boy from head to toe. Telepathically, she was calling out to her dearest friend.

'_Charles. Are you listening? We have a situation in the Danger Room.'_

A presence was felt on the edge of her consciousness, a feeling that only years of experience kept her from shuddering at, and a voice was heard whispering in her ear.

'_I'm well aware and on my way. See if Luke can't brace himself as he did before, as I feel that is the key to what is going on.' _

Storm turned to the newest student, who already looked deep in thought, tapping on the shoulder and relaying what the Professor had told her. Luke simply nodded and tensed himself up. Nothing happened. Luke thought back to what had happened, but it all seemed a blur to him. Nothing significant stuck out to him that could be related to his powers. Logan hit him, but Luke didn't move. It wasn't that Logan didn't connect hard enough, because Luke could feel the bruise from were the man hit him at. So what was it?

Xavier had arrived at this point, traversing across the floor quicker than Luke would've ever given him credit for. Without a word, the man reached up and tapped Luke's temple and everything felt fuzzy. Luke could still think, but he could feel something else there. Someone. Xavier was going through his head, sifting through his recent memories. Much more vivid than Luke remembered them. He could feel it now. The same force he felt generate inside him whenever he used his powers. But instead of leaving how it normally did, Luke felt it draw out of him when Logan hit. Then, in a moment, the memory was gone and Xavier had sat back down in his chair.

"Luke, go over to Logan and draw your power back. When you come back from school, meet with me in my office and we'll discuss this. For now, try to avoid tensing up like you did."

Still fuzzy from the mind probe, Luke nodded dumbly and walked over to the feral mutant, who was still moving as if he was being weighed down by an unseen weight. The fact that he wasn't talking made Luke think that it was a body-wide weight. Otherwise, Luke would be getting chewed out like a stick of gum.

The man stopped crawling forward when Luke put his hand on his shoulder and closed his eyes in concentration.

'_What am I looking for? That same feeling as before, I guess. But what am I gonna do with it?'_

The mental questions were interrupted when the mutant found what he was looking for. The feeling was there, the force he tapped into, strong and encompassing. Luke could feel it's presence bearing down on Wolverine, smothering him in its dead weight. Then, it was gone. The presence left, easing off of the man into nothing.

Instantly, the man pushed Luke away from him and got some breathing room, taking in a lungful every breath. Between gasps, he glared at the cause and spit out "What did you do?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders and replied "I made you heavy. Sorry. Didn't know I could do that."

Xavier came over and clasped Luke on the shoulder. "Don't worry about this for right now. You have school to get to. This session is over, so go get a shower and get some breakfast. You've got 45 minutes to be there."

Luke bolted out of the Danger Room, stopping by the locker room to grab his clothes before heading off to his second shower. There were 3 showers for the students to use. But between Kurt's fur and two girls, he was theoretically screwed. After running by the first two showers, both of which were occupied, he made it to the third just as Scott was leaving, his hair still partly damp. Rushing inside before it could become occupied, Luke once again repeated his morning rituals.

Hopping out of the shower and drying himself off, the teen rushed out of the bathroom to the kitchen, already finding the other teen there. They all greeted him and gestured to the ensemble of food already concocted. Luke sat down in one of the few open seats, sitting in between Kitty and Kurt. Scooping some eggs and stealing a piece of toast, the mutant dug in. It was pleasant, at least to Luke, to be elbow to elbow with people he liked over some food. It had been a while since that had happened.

The group finished their meal and Luke started questioning one major problem. "How are we getting to school? Cause I doubt that the bus is coming all the way to the mansion and I personally don't have my motorcycle, so I can't drive myself."

Scott and Jean both held up keys, before saying that they both drove to school. Scott had his own car. Jean drove the school's van. Kurt called shotgun for Scott's car and teleported away and came back with his backpack. Glancing at his new friend, the blue guy grabbed Luke by the wrist and before the kinetic mutant knew which way was up, they were in his room. Fighting to stay upright, Luke glared lightly at his friend and grabbed his bag. In another instant, the two were standing by Scott's red convertible, if only barely for Luke.

"Don't ever '**Bamf**' me around without warning again Kurt. Not unless you really have to. Because right now I feel sick as a dog."

"'**Bamf'**? What is that?"

"It's the sound you make when you teleport. I'm surprised you've never noticed."

Scott and the girls arrived in the garage a second later, looking much less green than Luke looked. The girls decided to ride together and the guys were riding with Scott. That was fine by Luke. Maybe the air would help him out.

The drive to school was rather bland, but Luke tried to learn all of the shops and stores they went by and look for something of interest to him. He didn't see much. They arrived in one of the crowded campus parking lots and as the trio stepped out and the girls followed right behind, Luke could tell that this school was a lot bigger than his old one. They had more kids in this parking lot than they had in his grade. What was worse, was that already rumors were flying about the new kid arriving with the other students that lived at the Xavier School.

Luke just grit his teeth and walked, following in close behind Kurt, who was splitting off from the main group and heading towards his own friends. '_Great_. _I get to make friends right off the bat._' Luke complained to himself internally, and prayed that he didn't say something too offensive.

Kurt held out his hand for a high five, as what looked to be a normal custom for him, but the bell rang as soon as Kurt and the other kid hit. Luke wanted to ask Kurt where he needed to go to get his schedule, but it seemed the disguised teen was too busy talking with his real buddies to pay him any attention. Looking around for someone to ask for directions, he saw Kitty talking with some of her friends as they headed towards the main building. Striding off towards her, Luke ran into an oncoming girl, knocking her on her butt. A pretty girl.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry. I was trying to get to… well never mind, she's gone. I'm sorry, here." Luke said, holding out his hand. She grabbed it and was about to pull, when she found herself already on her feet. Blinking at the change in height, she glanced at the teen who was standing there rubbing the back of his head. '_He's strong.'_

"I'm new here and I was trying to find my way around. Since I've already knocked you down, I guess it would be to much to ask you to show me around? I'm Luke, by the way."

"Crystal. And sure. Anything to get me out of Mrs. Barnes' class for a while longer. We need to get you to the office so you can get your schedule, then we'll go from there."

Crystal stopped to dust herself off, giving Luke the well appreciated time to look her over. She was a very light blonde, with long hair trailing past her shoulders. She was tall and slender, a slight athletic build to her and had the legs to back it up. She had a very pretty face, now that Luke really looked at her. Sparkling blue eyes and a bright smile…Wait. Why was she smiling?

"I'm not sure where you come from, but it's considered rude to stare here. And if you must stare, keep it above the shoulders. Got it?"

If red described a color, it would be Luke's face. It took him a second but he started spluttering out "I wasn't trying to stare or anything like that, but I was just trying to memorize you. You know, in case I need you to show me around or something."

That didn't sound creepy, did it?

Her smile turned to a less serious, more joking one as she slapped Luke playfully on the shoulder.

"I was just messing with you. You're new here, so get used to it. And you're nowhere near as bad as some of the guys around here. It could make a girl scared to walk around alone, for fear of… less courteous things happening to her."

"Not that you'd mind." Luke chimed, smirking now that he had his comeback. No body messed with him and got away clean. She glared at him for a second, before a smirk settled on her face as well.

"I get the feeling me and you will get along good here. You should hang out with me and my friends. You'll fit in pretty well with us."

With that, she started walking, sashaying down the hall. Luke stood there until the tardy bell rang, jarring him to attention as he picked up his pace and followed his guide. She led him to the main office area and to a dark wooden door that gave off bad vibes. Knocking on it three times, Crystal pushed Luke closer to the door as it opened, revealing a middle-aged woman in a blue women's suit and glasses.

"Yes? What've you done to get sent here this early in the morning?"

"He's the new student, Mrs. Darkholme. He needs his schedule."

Glancing over he glasses at the boy, she spoke to herself for a moment before turning to her office to grab some papers.

"So this is the newest Institute kid, huh? You seem to have quite the history with referrals and ISS, brat. You'll fit right in with your new girlfriend, Amanda here."

Luke stood in silence, a tad bit embarrassed as well as angry. Turning to the blonde, he gave a look asking _'Is this what' she's like all the time?'_ A nod was given in return, before Mrs. Darkholme was in front of him with a sheet of paper held out. Luke took it and watched in near appall as the door was slammed in his face. Turning to the other student, he glanced back at the door before saying "I didn't even get a chance to talk to her before she started hating my guts. What did I do?"

Crystal shrugged before shooting back "She doesn't seem to like the Institute kids and you're one of them, right? What's the school for, anyways? What do you guys do up there on that hill out of town?"

Luke rubbed his nose at the question, before answering with the best lie he could pull out of nowhere.

"All the students there are smart or troubled, like me. Lots of history with getting in fights and things like that."

She seemed to buy it, so Luke called it victory, glancing down at the paper, he called out his schedule to her. "English II, Geometry, Ancient History, and Computer Lab."

"You have 1st period with me. You're gonna hate Mrs. Barnes, but there's a seat by me that you can have. It'll make things more fun."

"Great. We'll go there last. Show me where my other classes are first."

"Please?"

"You're welcome." Rolling her eyes was all the satisfaction the teen needed. Finally, someone who enjoyed his unedited version of humor. He had to keep everything toned around everyone else, but if she started it, then he was gonna make her regret ever starting this war of words. She started off down the hall, quietly contemplating some witty comeback, he was sure. Reading over his schedule again, Luke lifted his eyes up from the paper and to the girl in front of him.

She could possibly be the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Even considering Mrs. Anderson. Or maybe he was getting gushy again. He did that a lot around girls. Watching her walk onwards and enjoying the view, he almost was too slow in pulling his gaze up when she stopped and turned.

"This is the computer lab. You probably won't be here that often."

"Why not? I have this class till the end of the semester."

"Yeah, but the teacher will randomly leave school some days. She gets sick a lot or something. But if she leaves, go home."

Nodding his head, he simply proceeded with the call of "Next!"

Walking side by side with her now, in order to avoid starring again, he decided to question something from earlier. "Why did Mrs. Darkholme call you Amanda? Is Crystal your last name or something?"

"My actual name is Amanda Stone. But I got the nickname Crystal and it's stuck ever since. Even the teachers call me that whenever I'm not getting on their nerves."

Taking in the new information, the teens continued on until they made it to the Geometry classroom.

"Mr. Philby teaches this class. He's pretty cool and really easy to pass. I have his class 3rd period."

The duo finished their tour of the school with the Ancient History classroom, which Luke swore that he could hear the snores from that classroom through the wall. The two laughed at the sound before heading back to their first period. Mrs. Barnes seemed ready to melt their faces off when they knocked on her door. Fortunately, Crystal was a better sweet talker than Luke, otherwise they would both be sitting in the ISS room all day. Luke took his seat next to Crystal after the situation had been explained and watched the other kids take notes on stuff he had done weeks ago in Mrs. Anderson's class. He sat and glanced around the room looking over all the students in the room, wondering if he would get to know any of them.

'_Probably not. With my kind of luck, they'll want to mob me before the school year is over.'_

Luke sat in his seat, twiddling his thumbs as the others all copied an exceedingly large amount of information. Who really cared what the origin of the word 'predicate' was? Time ticked by and eventually the first bell rang. Looking over his schedule, the teen started off for his Geometry class. He made it just as the bell rang again, and spotted Kurt in the middle of the room. There wasn't a seat near him, but at least there was a friendly face in the class. It seemed everyone had taken the back of the class, so the only seat left was front row. Yay. The large and jolly teacher quickly scooped him up out of his seat and had him introduce himself to the class.

"Hey, folks. I'm Luke, I just started here after moving from Virginia, and I hate Geometry."

The last part was a lie, but no one needed to think he was nerdy or whatever just because he was cursed with the ability to retain knowledge. The teacher seemed quite upset by that, though, and made a little mark in his grade book. Then the work started. Worksheet after worksheet on the proofs of Geometry were assigned. Luckily, they were all easily completed.

The bell rang again before Luke knew it was time for a class change and he was off to his Ancient History class. Throwing his bag down by an empty desk, Luke watched all thee other kids file out of the classroom, talking about food. So naturally, he followed them till he arrived at the lunchroom. Not any people were in the room yet, so Luke made it through the line quickly. Paying the lady at the counter, he turned to the tables and tried to find a place to sit. The back of Scott's head was in the back corner of the room at a round table, so Luke decided that was his table of choice. Plopping down in the seat beside the tall redhead, he also saw Jean there as well.

"Hey. How are your classes so far?" Jean asked, a smile on her face.

"Yeah." Luke grinned back, unraveling the paper bag his food was in and pulling out a cold sub. "I made a friend already and I've got Kurt in my second period class. Things are good."

"Who's the new friend?" Scott asked, taking a sip out of his milk carton.

"Amanda Stone. She goes by Crystal though."

If there was ever a more perfect time for milk to come squirting out of a nose, it would be now. But the young man held it in barely, and swallowed before gasping for air. Jean rolled her eyes as the senior tried to pull his composure back together.

"THE Amanda Stone? The worst kid to ever pass through the doors here on a daily basis? The only girl in this school with more than 10 referrals in one semester? You sure know how to pick 'em."

Luke rolled his eyes at Scott's obvious exaggerations. "You make it sound as if those were bad qualities in a friend, Scott. At least she was nice enough to show me around. Neither of you guys did."

Scot had the courtesy to look bad for a second, but Jean wasn't bothered by the shot at them. She was much more focused on her own shot at Luke's new friend.

"You're lucky that all she showed you was the school. There are some pretty nasty rumors flying around her and I wouldn't want to see if any of them were true."

Before Luke could start thinking about what she said, a tray slammed down right beside him.

"You know, I swear my nose is burning like crazy all of a sudden. I guess somebody's talking about me somewhere." Luke smiled at the familiar voice, turning to the new girl at the table.

"Hey. You've got first lunch to?" A nod from the blonde confirmed it. Scott and Jean shared a look and stayed quiet for the rest of lunch, which was also part of their 15 minute break, oddly enough, while the other two talked around bites of their meals. As the herds of students left the cafeteria by a teacher's signal, Luke threw away his trash and went back to his class, feeling happy after the time he got to spend with such a notorious girl, according to his housemates. Having someone like that around would be troublesome, but worth it. Plenty of fun things to get into when he was bored.

Luke made it back to the classroom, but when he looked for his bag, he didn't see it. Looking around, he found it in the back of the class. He saw a broad blonde guy in his previous seat, but rather than start something on his first day, Luke let it slide. No need in picking fights. Luke walked down the aisle of desks toward his bag, but was tripped by the same blonde guy in his old seat. Turning after catching himself from the stumble, Luke glared at the guy and growled out "What do you want?"

"I'm just introducing myself, new guy. I'm Duncan Mathews, and this is my seat. This is my class. This is my school. So now that you know who's at the top, we'll see where you fall in line at."

A bunch of the guys in the class snickered at this, finding it oh so funny when Duncan picked on someone, as long as it wasn't them. Luke clenched his fists, biting his lip to hold back his tongue. No. He wasn't going to do this on the first day at school. He just needed to make it through the rest of the day without causing a fuss. Then the second day of school came. THAT was when he could start making trouble. Taking his new seat in the back of the class, he watched as the teacher shuffled in a few minutes later and started the class. It was a bunch of notes on Phoenicians and a worksheet.

'_How do these guys get a job teaching when all they do is assign work? It seems so counter-productive to make a kid do work to learn about what he was working on.'_

The class dragged on by, with plenty of commentary by Duncan and his crew of lackeys. What an idiot.

The bell rang, signaling the last class of the day and Luke made it out of the door and to the computer lab without incident. The room was dark and the door locked, but a note taped to the door gave instructions for the student. _'Go home.'_

Luke glanced at the note, almost curious as to whether or not it was serious. He thought Crystal was joking. Glancing around and not seeing any other students coming towards the lab, Luke looked back to the note, then left. He headed towards the parking lots and wondered how he was gonna get back to the mansion. Maybe Scott or Jean left early because they were seniors? When he got outside, he was disappointed to see nobody he knew around. He stood there for a moment and thought about what to do, when a finger tapped his shoulder. When he turned around and saw that kind of grin, he should've known something was up.

"Heya, buddy. Fancy meeting you here. I take it your teacher is sick today?" If he kept bumping into her, he was gonna say she was stalking him. Crystal just grinned at him, twirling a bit of hair around her finger.

"Yep. Do you leave early everyday?" Luke hoped it didn't sound like he was implying she was skipping.

"Thank goodness I do. Perks of being a smart junior and everything. But I have to come back for practice later."

"Practice? You play a sport?" It explained why she looked to be in better shape than most.

"Kind of. I'm a cheerleader here."

'_Wow. A cheerleader and a troublemaker. What an odd combination.' _Luke thought to himself.

"So are you waiting on a ride or something? What are you standing here for?"

"Well, I guess I'm waiting for the end of school. I don't have my motorcycle, so I need to wait on Jean or Scott to leave before I can go." That was depressing. He got a free pass out of 4th period and he had to spend it waiting on the class to end so he could leave."

"I could take you to the Institute if you like. Everyone in town knows where it is."

Luke was shocked by her casual offer. He may not of had many friends, but he was pretty sure they didn't offer rides to people they knew for only a day. And he also knew that he shouldn't accept rides from people he only knew for a day. But he had done it before with people he had known for less amounts of time. Just because they were paying him didn't make them any more trust worthy. And truth be told, Luke wanted as much time as he could have around her. It wasn't every day a pretty girl like her took interest in him.

"If it's not a big deal for you, then ok. That's better than just standing around." She nodded and grabbed his arm, leading him to her little Camry. Luke put his bag in the floorboard and buckled up as the girl barreled out of the parking lot, hitting 40 before she left the campus grounds. The entire way through town, she went two speeds. Stop or flying. Luke was clinging to the door handle with a white-knuckle grip the entire way to the mansion. Never in his life had he been more scared of a girl behind the wheel.

After screeching to a halt by the mansion's gates, Luke swore he smelt burnt rubber. Thanking the mad driver and waving good bye, Luke turned to face his home. Opening the gates and going down the walkway to the mansion, he was greeted at the door by the school's owner. The bald man's eyes gleamed with hidden thoughts as Charles greeted him

"Hello, Luke. How was your day at school?"

"You're a telepath and you're asking me how my day was? It was pretty good."

The door behind Xavier opened wider to reveal both Storm and Wolverine in full combat gear.

"Good. That means you're fresh for our newest training we have in mind, pipsqueak."

Luke paled as Logan grabbed his shoulder and started frog-marching him back out to the front yard.

* * *

><p>AN: It's done! This chapter ran way to long and I still didn't finish where I was supposed to. That means that next chapter I'll start following the main series progression. I promise! (Fingers are crossed.) I'm sorry if the classroom setting seems kinda rushed, but it was. Not much of the series is spent inside the actual classrooms, so I'm treating it like regular school. And nothing cool ever happens on the fist day.<p>

I hope you guys like Crystal, as she's one of my OC characters that will play a more important role later down the line. For now, she's just a troublemaking cheerleader that drives like a bat outta hell. I'm sending this to my Beta, who will hopefully clean this mess up better than last time. I felt like pretty dumb when I saw some of the mistakes I made in that writing. (One of them was pointed out to me, thankfully.)

As always, thank you for reading my story. I'm so ecstatic that I've gotten 6 nice reviews so far and a few favorites and alerts. I get so jipper (Love that word!) when I get an e-mail now, because I'm hoping for another alert or review. Thanks for that. Title came from a Gucci Mane song (If you can call them that). Or at least I THINK it was him. Not sure about that. I'll see you guys next time, Big Willis out!


	4. Almost Famous

AN: Not much to say today, guys. Nothing important happened except another great episode of House. Fatal stabbing and the Aussie is in the stretcher. Surprise! So now that I've spoiled that episode for you, let me go ahead and spoil the rest of the story for you. L*! F)&($ E^E%#O/E. If anyone deciphers that and tells me what it is, then I'm gonna kill you. So please let me know if you get it.

Disclaimer: My mom has decided that she owns the entire story. Who am I to say she's wrong? I'm not the lawyer Marvel is gonna hire to "borrow" all her money permanently.

Chapter 4

Almost Famous

"Really? You guys aren't gonna welcome me home from a day at school with warm cookies and milk? I swear that was in the brochure! Liars."

Luke was desperate. He hadn't ever seen a brochure for the institute, but he knew that anything would be better than this. Logan was a killer in the DR and looked like he was gonna be worse out in fresh air. And now he had Storm there too. What in the world had he done to make Xavier mad at him?

"You skipped 4th period and you want cookies? Kids these days." Storm stated with a mild bit of humor in her voice that was lost to everyone else at the time. Luke groaned before settling himself into a combat ready stance.

"I didn't skip! Teacher wasn't there. This is my 8th favorite shirt too and I don't want to ruin it. Are you sure we really have to do this?"

"How else are you going to use your developing powers, Luke? It was your career of choice before the institute. Your powers are obviously used to their full potential in combat, so we need to push you until you draw out the full extent of your abilities."

This was Charles speaking from the doorway, watching his new student with great curiosity. He could telepathically hear Luke shoot back a comment on how he got to pick the terms on the job. Chuckling a little at the young man's resentment of forced labor, Xavier thought to himself how to make the mutant more co-operative. He seemed pretty eager while still in his mid-morning haze.

Logan got tired of all the talking and growled, drawing the attention back to him. "You're gonna focus on repeating what you did earlier this morning. You can't use your pushes or pulls at all during this exercise. You ready?"

Before Luke could mutter a witty response, the man was in motion. Watching the man run forward absurdly fast for a person (Luke chalked it up to being very fit), the teen focused internally on what he felt from this morning. Drawing on his powers, tensing up, but not releasing them.

Treetops surrounding the Mansion Grounds

The young assassin mutant watched his target carefully from his concealed position, mildly curious as to what was going on. It seemed that his target and the other man were about to fight. This would be his time to strike. The young man fell feet first off of his branch, landing in a runner's crouch for a second, looking as if he was going to charge. The next second, he was hurtling through the air.

Luke felt his powers emerge from himself once more and settle along his body, resting heavily on his frame, almost to an unbearable point. He couldn't walk, let alone move enough to avoid Wolverine. But there had to be some way to use this, like he had earlier. The weight he had been feeling must've been passed over to Wolverine when they hit, before Luke had time to notice the weight himself.

So all he had to do was wait until Wolverine touched him, and then this would be over. At least, that was Luke's plans until he felt something bounce off of his head that sent his jaw into his chest quite uncomfortably.

The other Institute mutants stood in shock as a mysterious mutant appeared out of thin air to kick Luke in the back of the head hard. But despite how hard the kick seemed, it didn't appear to have hurt the victim badly.

Turning around to see an oh so familiar face and his struggle to stand upright, Luke nearly turned back around to run. _'Oh hell no. Not him. Anyone but him! Why?'_

The mutant assailant just glared at Luke, before throwing himself into a double footed kick to his chest that sent Luke back a few steps. Jumping back to his feet and seeing Luke still standing, and not smeared on a wall drained some of the color out of the assassin's face. The attacker was taller than Luke by a few inches, somewhere over 6 foot, with an average mug and messy black hair on top. He was dressed in the same style he always wore; torn jeans, a worn t-shirt with a lightweight jacket over it, and the best athletic shoes money could buy.

"You learned some new tricks. Good. You're gonna to need 'em." His voice was an odd sound. It didn't suit his personality and despite what he said, he still sounded as if he was friendly. Luke glanced down at his feet and the ground between him and his attacker, staring at the trenches dug by his feet dragging. He must've been incredibly heavy to not have been splattered from Terrence's last attack.

"Terrence, I told you that I was sorry about Tampa. What's this all about? I'm sure we could settle this a less violent way. There's a burger place in town that puts chili on their burgers. I know that's your favorite."

"I'm allergic to chili powder, you asshole. And this isn't about you leaving me to die inside a boiler. This is about the hit that was put on your head that I'm collecting. So if you don't mind, I'm going back to work."

Before anything else could be done, Wolverine pounced, pinning a thrashing teen mutant to the ground. After securely pinning the limbs, Logan growled behind his mask and snarled out "What do you think you're doing attacking one of our students, huh? Who put a hit on him? Start talking before things get a lot worse for you, punk."

Terrence ignored the man on top of him as he snidely shot at Luke "You're taking lessons now, Lukey? I thought you had a little bit more faith in yourself than that. But if I were you, I'd take lessons to. I would hate to have another incident like back in the Briars."

"Shut the hell up! Don't bring that back up! Why won't anyone let that job die?"

"Funny you said the word die when all of those people were killed thanks to you. I guess even your own conscious doesn't want you to forget that."

Gritting his teeth and fighting the urge to curb stomp Terrence's head off, Luke warned Logan "Watch him. He's stronger than he looks and he's lethal."

A snort was his response. "This runt doesn't look that tough, kid. But you might want to start explaining what's going on here." Terrence laughed, before a look of seriousness crossed his face. Without a word, the hired mutant hocked a ball of spit right into Wolverine's face. The man instinctively was drawn back, giving Terrence a few inches to move. One was all he needed. With a quick buck of his waist, Wolverine was thrown off of him and Terrence was back in runner's position. A second later he was flying through the air in another kick, only for him to be caught by a strong wind that flung him back.

Landing flat footed, Terrence saw the woman standing at the side, eyes white as she concentrated her powers to repel him. Taking a few seconds to build his charge up, Terrence flashed forward at hard to see speeds, using short bursts that looked like footsteps. He got quicker with each step as the momentum built up, moving at speeds that were barely visible to the human eye. Luke crossed his arms over his chest in a guard just as he finally lost sight of Terrence. And he waited for the blow to come.

And he waited and he waited. '_Where did he go? Terrence may be able to move fast enough to were I can't see him, but he'd leave tracks behind from each step. There's no sign of him, so where could he be that wouldn't leave a trail?'_

A shadow growing larger gave him his answer. Luke dove forward and out of the way just as the falling mutant landed with enough force to make a crater.

"Damn it, stay still! I swear, you are the most annoyingly weak mutant I've ever had to fight. You're not even using your powers! You're just trying to protect yourself."

Again, the voice did not tell the actual emotion the speaker felt. He still sounded friendly as he crouched from the landing, palm on the ground to balance. Wolverine tried to pounce the kid again, but just as he got close enough, Terrence shot forward and grabbed Luke by the waist in the tackle of a lifetime, sending both tumbling off in a roll towards the mansion doors.

'_Luke, if you weigh him down with your powers, then I should be able to subdue him mentally. I could even make him forget about the contract. So focus while you've still got the chance to touch him.'_

If not for wheezing in as much air as he could while grappling around with his old time enemy, Luke would've thanked the Professor profusely. But he was. In fact, he was wheezing so hard that when Terrence started throttling his neck, there wasn't any air to be squeezed out of him. It did make it a lot harder to focus on the newest aspect of his power while he was slowly losing consciousness, but the green-eyed teen knew he had to try.

Focusing as hard as he could while worming his fingers underneath his strangler's, Luke felt his power begin to build inside him. A flick of his finger would send Terrence flying, but the annoying killer wouldn't be hurt. It would just build up his powers even stronger. So Luke settled for pushing it into Terrence as much as he could. The weight slowly became noticeable, as the knee buried in his gut got heavier and heavier.

'_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.'_ Luke thought to himself as black spots began to appear on his vision. Just as the black finally did conquer his vision and he lost himself to unconsciousness, he saw Wolverine tackle Terrence off of him.

Med Bay - 3:03

Luke woke up with a startled gasp, choking as air came spilling back into his lungs, unlike what he last remembered. He jerked around to see the last face he wanted to see on earth slumbering peacefully beside him, snores rattling the walls as drool collected around the pillow Terrence's head was resting on.

Charles laid an hand on the teen's shoulder, settling him back down into the bed.

"You've got a very odd friend beside you, Luke. I've sifted through his mind a little and he was right. Someone had hired him to kill you. He never learned her name, but I suspect it was your last employer. Terrence no longer remembers his contract, so when he awakens, he'll have no reason to attack you."

"Except for the fact we've both tried to kill each other several times. There is always that kinda grudge to drive him."

"His anger should be rather subdued. I took care to make sure he wouldn't be a future threat to you or anyone else here. As for all of the references you two made outside, there must be a lot of history between you to. A rivalry of sorts. Could you please explain? I've only learned Terrence's half of the story."

"Terrence and me go back to when I first got into the odd job here and there. He had already started taking on work and was quick to decide he didn't want any punk kid popping up to take his work. He tried to 'dissuade' me from going any further than I had into jobs. I naturally refused and he picked a fight then and there. We destroyed most of the restaurant we met at and after he broke my face a couple times, I finally threw a garbage bin at him that trapped him inside without any room to build up his power. Terrence, from what I've learned, can compress his muscles to expel power exponentially stronger than normal. This requires him time to charge his powers up, as well as room to do so. Without that room, he's as weak as a normal person. Now after he had been stuck in a garbage bin for a while, the guy decided he hated my guts and that's how we've been ever since. Thankfully, he hasn't killed me yet."

Charles nodded, before explaining what he had gleamed from the unconscious assassin.

"He thinks of you as a rival and a perverted friendship. It's like a competition between the two of you to see who's the better. And being better is what Terrence really wants, not your head on a platter. As he sees it, you two are clashing forces that are roughly equivalent. He'll know he's stronger if he can beat you on even terms. None of your past experiences with him have been fair, according to him."

With the scratch of his nose and a sigh, Luke glared over at the unconscious body beside him and said "This guy has got to be the most annoying friend I've ever had. So now that I can make him weigh more than normal, he's probably gonna want me to help him with weight lifting. In fact, I could be the best weight lifter in the world right now. I'd just have to make everyone else weight weigh a couple ton more, then I could win. That'd be a great title for the ladies."

Charles seemed unperturbed by that last statement, before throwing his suspicion at the young man.

"I do believe that weighing someone down isn't the only thing this new aspect of your powers can do. Manipulating the weight of an object to be heavier is very useful indeed, but I think the opposite is within your grasp as well."

"If it is, then I'm gonna be the only person to moon walk while still on earth. Sweet."

Again, the statement did not bother the Professor as he began instructions immediately. Grabbing a pen out of his pocket and handing it to his now puzzled student, the man instructed from his chair "I want you to make this pen as weightless as possible, then add on as much weight as you can while still holding it. You are gonna do this for the rest of the week or until I'm satisfied with the results. And you're cleared to leave the med bay, if you want. Or you could stay here and wait for Terrence to come around."

Luke watched in befuddlement as the great telepath rolled out ff the room, before glancing down at his assignment, the pen. "A pen? This is the great assignment I've been given for practice? Oh well, if the guy can make me use part of my powers that I never knew I had in the first place in the first few days, then I'm gonna do what he says."

Glancing back over to his still snoring adversary, Luke got to work concentrating. Luke built up his powers, quicker now that he was used to building them instead of just channeling along his limbs, and thought about what to do from there. '_If pushing it into the pen weighs it down, maybe I should draw something out of it. But what? What I am I looking for to draw out?'_

Forgoing the drawing out until he knew what he was looking for, Luke practiced pushing weight into the pen until it weighed 15 or so pounds. Straining to hold it from his flat position on the bed, Luke thought about what to do now. _'I know I can draw the weight back that I put in, but what about the weight that's already there?'_

Drawing his power back into himself and letting it disperse, Luke kept drawing what he felt to be 'weight'. Slowly, the pen became lighter and lighter in Luke hand. So light, Luke thought it was lighter than what it was before he first started his assignment. Tossing it up in the air, Luke watched in fascination as it fell, going higher than it should've for a weak toss, and descended at a slower rate than it should've. Luke plucked it out of the air and stared at it in amazement, throwing it back into the air to make sure he wasn't crazy.

"Xavier, you're a genius! Man, I love this place."

Luke jubilant shout woke up the slumbering mutant, who stirred in his bed and pushed himself up, taking in the strange surroundings with a nervous look on his face.

"You're all right, dude. Calm down. Me and you got put in here for scrapping to hard out in the front yard. No hard feelings or nothing like that."

His stare when Terrence looked at him was unnerving. He looked ready to jump out of bed and stomp his head off then and there.

"Where is here? Why can't I remember how I got here and why were we fighting? What were you doing here in the first place?" That voice was still a friendly tone, but after so many experiences with it, Luke could hear the slight hitch of nervousness.

"Calm down. I'll answer any question you want to ask. You're at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters in Bayville, New York. You can't remember why you're here because you hit your head pretty hard outside. I guess you'll start to remember later or something. As why we were fighting, well, I don't know. I never know why we fight, but I know that you always start it. And I'm here as a student. Apparently, I've got more potential to grow than I thought."

The teen sat in silence, starring down at the sheets on his bed, deep in thought, before he rose his head back to ask "Where's the bathroom? I gotta piss like a racehorse."

"There's one down the hall, I think. I'm still new here myself. I'll show you."

With that, Luke slid out of bed and steadied himself, making sure he had all his stuff on him. Hopefully his phone would still work after everything. He hated having to buy new ones. His phone did in fact still work and he had a message waiting on him from a strange number. Opening it, Luke saw '_Where did you go? Are you still at school or did you get a ride back to the institute?_' Typing back as he opened the door for Terrence, who brushed past him roughly, he sent _'I got a ride and I'm at the institute. Who is this anyways?' _The response said it was Kurt, which Luke quickly saved to his phone. Terrence, on the other hand, had found the bathroom and slammed the door shut after him, locking it. Luke thought about waiting or leaving him to find his way out, but before he could decide, a loud crash was heard behind the door.

Throwing his urging and common sense, Luke threw his shoulder into the heavy door, which didn't give way. With a quick twist of his wrist, Luke broke the handle with his powers and pushed the door in to see a wall with a hole large enough for someone to dive through.

"Terrence! Get back here! I'm not paying for this! God, the Professor is gonna kill me for this. And when he does, I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of your life!"

Gazing through the hole, Luke saw a straight trail running from the bathroom till it hit the outside. Praying mentally, Luke dived through the hole as best he could, flopping to the ground and hitting his head several times as he made his way outside. Out there, he found a figure tearing through the yard, running faster than Luke could dream of. Making sure he built up enough power in his arm, Luke extended the appendage, closed his hand in a fist, then jerked it back to him.

Terrence was heading to the outer grounds wall, prepping his legs up for the jump he'd need to make to escape. Right as he started to push off the ground, he felt his left ankle jerk out from under him and hid head hit the ground as he was drug backwards at a fast pace. He slid to a stop fifty feet away from where he was before, to far for him to make the jump without taking to long. Turning to the culprit of his failed escape, the powered young man glared. Even from a distance Luke could tell this would mean war.

"Oh well." Luke muttered to himself before cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting "Come get it!"

The runner's pose was once again taken and Luke started his internal timer. '_In three, two, one, leap!'_ Luke dived to the side as Terrence flew by him, narrowly avoiding a viscous clothesline. Capitalizing on the missed attack, just as his instincts and past experiences told him to, Luke turned around with an open palmed thrust, knocking the off balance mutant even further off and into the ground. Throwing himself back up, the angry muscle compressor charged forward again, taking short steps that built up over time.

Luke knew how to deal with this as well. This was the same song and dance for the two of them. Luke would avoid until he got lucky or he got unlucky. That was it. Until now.

With a quick 'come forth' gesture, Luke threw the speeding body off balance again, and as his rival stumbled forward, Luke drew as much weight into his arm as he could and swung forward in a hay maker that knocked Terrence flat out on the ground. So hard in fact, that his head bounced when it hit. Before the punk teen could recover, Luke quickly placed his hands on his shoulder and began to weigh him down, well past the point of being able to move.

"I told you to calm down. I'm gonna leave you here until the Professor decides what to do with you."

With that, Luke left his appalled victim. As soon s he made it through the main door, the brown-haired teen was greeted by an angry Logan. And there was a man in a wheelchair behind him.

"What in blue blazes did you do to set that brat off? He tore threw 6 walls getting out of here! And where did he go? It's your fault he was here in the first place, so he's your responsibility.

Indignation was rightfully lighted and Luke began defending himself against the snarling brute of a man.

"I walked him to the bathroom, alright! He's crazy enough to do that, with or without provocation. And don't worry about the walls. I'll pay for them or whatever. And how is it my fault that he was sent here to kill me? It wasn't like I asked him to!"

"Whatever you were running away from when you got in over your head on the job was bound to catch up to you. Why would you think it wasn't going to follow you here? You've put the entire mansion in danger just by being here! If it were up to me, and trust me I wish it was, I'd tell you to hit the street and find a way back home. We're running a school here and having assassin's breaking walls isn't part of our itinerary."

Logan using that last word lessened the harshness of that shouting speech, mostly because it was hilarious that such a dumb looking guy used such a big word. But Luke kept his face serious when he shot back "I thought that crazy lady would give up after she failed the first time! Honest! If I beat up her boys, then I thought that was a clear enough message. I'm sorry. I'll leave if you want me to, because I respect the fact that it's your school and I harmed it, but it wasn't intentional. Not at all."

Logan simmered down a bit at this as Charles stepped forward, well technically , rolled forward. Making sure he had Luke's full attention, the man spoke up in a calm manner, despite his house being wrecked.

"Logan made some good points, but I do believe you. There was no way you could've known. While a little more warning on what to expect from your past would've been nice, but again I believe that you believed that nothing would become of it. Now as for our house wrecker outside, I'm going to show him the door and make sure he knows better than to attack this place or you without proper reasoning. After that, I want you back on your assignment."

"Yes sir." Luke brightened visibly after that, glad he was staying at the institute. He had only just got settled in and he hated moving. Plus, this place and the people were starting to grow on him. Even Logan, when he wasn't mad. Speaking of the man, he came back over to the teen, much more civilized now, and told him "You and me. Tonight in the DR. We're gonna see just how far this new branch of your powers goes."

Damn. There went his entire day. He had only just got out of the first practice by getting in a fight, then he got a personal assignment, and now he had to train with Logan one on one again. He needed a social life. Kurt and Scott came through the front door and stopped talking to each other to ask Luke "Is that a hole in the mansion on the west side?"

"Yep. Not really my fault. I blame Karma, bad luck, hexes, curses, or whatever. And now that my day has officially hit sucky, how have you guys enjoyed the day so far?"

"Pretty good. You should come with me to get a cheeseburger later to help perk you back up."

"Thanks Kurt. I might just do that."

Bayville Airport

After being freed from his invisible weights, Terrence quickly fled the mansion. Who wouldn't of, in his situation. He had attacked it and been defeated, then spared. He wasn't gonna push his luck by sticking around. He was waiting on his flight back to Raleigh, and he'd head home from there.

"You could've beaten him, you know. You're obviously more gifted than him. A little rough around the edges, but you're stronger than anyone at that school right now."

Terrence turned around to see a middle-aged woman standing behind him with dark hair and a woman's suit on. She had glasses and a look on her face that made her look very mean and unpleasant.

"What are you talking about woman? You're crazy."

Terrence knew this woman was a mutant. Had to be. But he had to figure out several other things first. What did she want with him? Why did she know about today? How strong was she? Could he get away from her if need be?

"I can answer your questions if you'd join me for dinner. I've got another brat to feed but it'll give us ample time to discuss a proposition. If you don't want to, then I guess you can walk away being weaker than Luke. After all, he did just beat you twice in a row."

With the gritting of his teeth, Terrence followed the irksome woman to a nearby airport restaurant. The two went to an already reserved table in the empty far corner, that was already occupied by a blonde headed girl. Ignoring the woman for a moment, the teen tossed his hair to the side with the jerk of his head and smoothed his jacket out.

"Heya there. What's a pretty girl doing with such a crazy woman? Why don't you and me split for a little while and go get ice cream? There's a nice little shop somewhere around here."

A pretty smile. That was always a plus in Terrence's books. "Thanks, but no thanks. There isn't a single ice cream shop of this airport for 10 miles and I don't think I want to walk that far."

"Well, had to try. So what's this proposition you got for me, toots? I don't work for free and I'm not cheap either. I don't do escorts and I detest guarding places."

A notched eyebrow was all he got from his sales pitch, before the woman began explaining.

"I'm not trying to hire you, Terrence. I am offering you a chance to better your powers with other mutants your age. Not in some formal soft-hearted school like Xavier's, but more of a brotherhood of fellow mutants. You have gifts and I would hate to see them waste away."

"What makes you think I can get better. In case you didn't notice, I broke half a dozen walls trying to get out."

"But did you make it? No. I'm going to teach you how to harness your powers to the fullest and the you'll be able to take on those detestable X-men without a problem."

"Luke is one of those X-men, you said?"

"By now, he certainly is. He proved himself by beating you, didn't he?"

"What are you wanting to get out of this, lady. A woman like you doesn't do anything for free and unless I know what that is, I can't trust you."

"I want your loyalty. When I give you an order, I want you to follow it to the letter. No slip-ups and no complaining. I'm going to make you into something truly super-human, so you better appreciate it. If there is one thing I hate, it's back talking. If you can do that, we'll be fine."

"So it's like a permanent contract for me to follow orders while I get training? We'll see. And is she in on this too?"

The girl nodded her head. "I'm just starting to show signs of my mutation, so I haven't started yet either. But from what I've seen, it's pretty much just doing what you want until she tells you to do something.

"So this brotherhood, where is it at?"

"Right here in Bayville of course."

Terrence sat at the table for a moment, deep in thought. _'Lukey is gonna be here under Xavier's wing. This'll be my chance to get better than him and put him down for good. This woman already knows to much about me for me to ack out anyways. And maybe she's half as good at teaching as she is talking._'

"I'm in. What should I call you?"

A smile crossed over the woman's face and as she pushed her glasses back into position, Terrence could've sworn that her eyes turned yellow. Shivers went down his spine as goose bumps rose on his arms.

"You can call me Mystique. Or if all things go accordingly, your new principle."

Confusion was clear on the mutant's face until it fawned on him and his face paled. Surely she was joking. She had to be. No way she was going to make him. But the smile on both Mystique and the girls gave Terrence a sinking feeling. He was going back to school.

The two ladies got up from there seat and started towards the door, with their unhappy camper following behind. Mystique led the way to a black car, which already had a driver in it. Without asking, the driver sped off from the airport back towards Bayville. Glancing over to the girl, Terrence saw her staring out the window and completely ignoring him. Sitting glumly, Terrence waited patiently and found the car slowing down. Looking outside the window, he could see the dirt driveway they were on that led to…Was that a house or a shack for the national hobo committee? It looked like it was gonna collapse any second.

"No way. Nope. This ain't gonna cut it. This dump is worse than my old place, and I set it on fire 4 times!"

The fact he was a tad bit arsenic wasn't a shocker to anyone in the car. The teen looked crazy, acted crazy, and talked in that creepy friendly voice. Of course he had a few nuts loose.

Mystique ignored the comment and led both of them to the door.

"I took the privilege of having bags packed for you and they're waiting upstairs in your rooms. There are already two others here, so you can introduce you can spend the day getting to know your future teammates."

Throwing the door open loudly and ignoring the stares into the back of her head, the woman yelled loudly "Hey boys! You got some new recruits! Get down here and show them around." With that, she turned around, got in the car and left.

From the house came a loud rumbling sound before two guys, roughly 16 or 17, came pacing down the ragged steps. One was hunched over in a crouch, his hair almost green and his hygiene obviously poor. The other was standing upright and looked to be in better shape than the runt.

"I'm Toad, alright. I run the pace so while Mystique's away, so I'm gonna lay down the rules after you two introduce yourselves."

If that runt run the place then Terrence was gonna tear it down, burn it, then piss on it before he left.

The other guy elbowed Toad and introduced himself. "My name's Lance, but you can call me Avalanche. Toad here's got a big mouth, so don't mind him. Go ahead and introduce yourselves and then we can give you the tour of this dump."

The girl stepped up, playing with her hair. "I'm Amanda, but you can call me Crystal. I already go to Bayville, so I'm not new here. But I don't recognize either or you two."

"I'm new here. Just got kicked out of my last school for destroying the principle's office." Lance didn't seem to be regretful at all, which was good. Faint-heartedness was weakness. No regrets. Or at least, that's how Terrence saw it.

Toad piped up with his whiney voice, complaining "I've got 3rd period with you, Crystal. You don't remember me?"

A shake of her head sent the froggy little bugger back upstairs, in a rather impressive leap for someone so scrawny.

Lance shook his head, before turning to Terrence. "So who are you, Mr. I'm to cool to say anything?"

A cocky grin slid onto Terrence's face. It was gonna be so much fun teaching this arrogant piece of trash who was who around here.

"I'm Terrence. But you can call me Springload."

AN: Sorry about the shortness and for any grammar mistakes. I finished this in a hurry because I have a trip to go to and I can't write for a bit. So I could upload, or wait 3 to 4 days. I chose upload. It's not like my beta does that good of a job anyways. So thanks for reading and I hope that this was enough of a chapter to satisfy. The next one definitely is gonna pick up on Rogue's episode. R&R and see ya! Big Willis, out!


	5. Going Through Changes

AN: My throat hurts and my head is ringing. I feel like I've seen more booty than any pirate. Maybe that's to much info, but I'm on a life high right now thanks to the wonderful and scantily clad women at the concert I just attended. I even got me some digits! Maybe they aren't fake ones. I'll find out tomorrow. But either way, I feel great! On with the story and disclaimer! Disclaimer: I do not on this series, nor does my mother. She apologizes for making that claim earlier. If you forgive her, she'll give you a cookie.

Chapter 5

Going Through Changes

"Come on, you lousy good for nothing! I thought you were a professional! Where's the big bad thief how could take on armed guards and win? Is he scared?"

"Logan, you gotta work on your trash talk. It was my profession to run away if caught and fight as a last resort. And since you haven't hit me yet with those butter knives, I'm doing just fine."

Logan growled at the teen's comeback, before lunging again through the forested area to attack his target. The teen in question merely jumped out of the way, lingering in the air longer than normal and going abnormally far.

"For someone who's so tough, you aren't so bad when you're carrying an extra ten or so pounds. Or maybe it's because I only weigh about half of what I should."

It had been a week since Luke had been assigned his assignment with the pen and his sessions with Logan. He'd made great progress under the eyes of his rough tutor, and Xavier was pleased as well after a few more 'discussions.' Luke thought of them more as polite interrogations, but he knew the man wouldn't push too hard. For such a powerful telepath, he had great restraint over his gift.

His team was accepting him rather well too, he thought. Asides from the fact, Scott hated him for being in trouble all the time and Jean hated his troubling friend, things were great. In fact, his friend had set him up big time his first day of school, but he felt that it was worth it in the end.

_Flashback_

Luke had just made it to his first period before the tardy bell had rung and was happy when he sat down next to his only school friend. Crystal was already in her desk and tapping away at it with her nails, glancing over to him every now and then, as if she was waiting for him to do something. Luke let it slide and started to daydream when the morning announcements came on. Practices were called out and the library was closed. Luke could've cared less. The office worker soon began calling out all the kids that needed to report to the principal's office for write ups. Luke set his head down for a nap and was about to fade away, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Luke, they called you and me. We gotta go see Mrs. Darkholme again."

"Really? What did you do?" The fact that Crystal was renowned at school for being a trouble maker and a delinquent guaranteed her a spot in the office, but Luke wanted to know what for. What fun had he missed out on?

"You'll see. Just come on. She'll be done with all the other kids by the time we get up there."

The reply was cryptic enough, which put Luke on edge. His paranoia and her personality had his mind conjuring up insane ideas of how she had gotten him into trouble along with her. After all, he did leave campus with her. He didn't sign out or anything like that, so there was a chance Mrs. Darkholme would be mad about that. But if the entire class was told to leave, then surely not.

The trip to the office was made with several thought trains rolling through Luke's head on similar ideas, but when the he sat down on the bench and listened to the woman on the other side of the thick door, he stopped caring. She sounded pissed. Even more so than normal for her. She was either hissing out insults or shouting punishments as kids filled in and out of her office, each with a sour look on their face.

One kid Luke heard called inside, Todd Tolanski, according to the shouts from his principal, was sentenced to a week of after school detention for a single tardy. Luke may not have been at the school long enough to pick up on the policies, but he knew that no one ever gave detention for one tardy. So Mrs. Darkholme was definitely pissed.

When all the other student had been sorted through and assigned punishment, Luke finally was called into the office, with Crystal waving him goodbye and drawing her finger across her neck in a happy farewell.

Luke closed the heavy door behind him and turned to see his principal sitting calmly in her desk, glasses perched towards the end of her nose in a slant that made the glare she sent towards him all the more intimidating. Sitting himself in one of the chairs, the teen decided to shut his mouth and wait.

The woman behind the desk pushed her glasses up with a sigh and stood up, pacing around her desk in loud heels that Luke couldn't help but feel were way too loud. With each _clack_ of the hell, the woman came closer and closer until she had positioned herself behind his chair. Luke didn't dare turn around when he felt her nails sink into his shoulders uncomfortably.

"Do you know why you're here, boy? Do you happen to remember why you came to my office yesterday? Tell me."

"I came here for my schedule, ma'am."

Luke was almost proud he didn't stutter, but the pinching from the sharp nails on his shoulders kept him from enjoying his pride.

"Yes. That's exactly what you came for. So please explain to me why you came to my office yesterday for my schedule, but you didn't follow it."

"I did. I went to all my classes, went to lunch and break, and left when my 4th period teacher told me to."

"Are you saying that your teacher told you to leave school an entire period early? Even though you have a full month to catch up on in school work? Please excuse me if I say I don't believe you."

Luke wished he could squirm out of her grip, but the woman had a solid one. If she kept this up, she was going to break the skin and get blood all over his 5th favorite shirt. Then it would be his 7th favorite.

"She didn't actually say it. There was a note on the door telling all of her students to go home. So I did. I heard that the teacher was sick often and did that kind of thing a lot, so what's the big deal?"

"Where did you hear this from, Luke? Whoever told you this must not like you, because they elaborately tricked you into skipping 4th period. So if you tell me who told you this, I'll let it slide."

"It was Crystal. Are you telling me that she was lying about the teacher being sick and letting kids skip her class? Oh, she's gonna get it whenever I find enough glitter and glue. Do you know where any craft stores are in Bayville?"

The woman ignored the comment/question and opened the door, calling in her new secret disciple. Gesturing the seat beside Luke, she looked over the two mutant teens and made her judgment call.

"The both of you are to serve 3 days of after-school detention doing community work around the school. You won't be chaperoned but your work will be monitored. Luke, go back to class. Amanda and I are going to have a discussion about the consequences of lying."

Luke nodded glumly before glancing over to his new partner in community work, who seemed rather happy if anything else. Weird.

Luke went outside the door, shutting it behind him, but didn't leave. Instead, he moved to were his shadow wouldn't be seen underneath the door and pressed his ear against the wall. After all, if she got him in trouble, he at least deserved to hear her get chewed out. Plus, he didn't want to go back to class without her. He hated English just as much as she did. Through the wall he could faintly hear Mrs. Darkholme talk, but it certainly wasn't the scolding he was expecting to hear.

"You have three days, Crystal. Three days to worm your way into Xavier's Institute and find out what Toad couldn't. I know you may think that it's too soon for you, but Xavier won't harm you, nor will his lapdogs. All you need to do is find one of their computers and let me in from the inside."

"Before I do anything for you, Mystique, I want to move back in with my dad. I'll show up to whatever training or practice you want, but I refuse to live in that disgusting environment. So let me live with my dad or I'm leaving your scrappy team for the Institute. I'm sure they'll be able to find a way to fix my problem."

"It doesn't need fixing, child. Soon you will be a beautiful and powerful mutant. Just give it time."

"Yeah, I can't wait to turn into a walking rock! That'll keep plenty of guys knocking at the door."

"That Luke boy has worked around plenty of other mutants. He'd look past that in a heartbeat if he's as soft-hearted as he looks. And since you're already friendly with him, it makes him the perfect way to get in the mansion. No more discussion, just do it!"

Luke threw himself into one of the benches by the office door, just as Crystal walked out. Pushing himself back up, he explained his presence before she could ask.

"I waited on you so I wouldn't get lost on the way back to class. So how bad was it?"

Luke definitely wanted to play off his presence near the door as normal. But from the near skeptical glance he got from the blonde, he was almost sure she knew he had heard. A moment later, she turned and walked away, back to class without a word. Luke followed along and the two were back in class just in time to catch the first 5 minutes of an hour long lecture. Neither were awake for the other 55.

_Flashback End_

The following 3 days of community service were normal enough, cleaning tables and taking out garbage, but Crystal never did anything to arouse suspicion. She never came to the mansion or even tried to, but it was clear now that she was a mutant, Mrs. Darkholme was a mutant, and both knew he was a mutant that attended a mutant school. This kind of threw off the relationship of friendship that Luke wanted to build with the cheerleader, because it was obvious that Mystique and her 'team' wanted something bad for the mansion and it's inhabitants.

The yellow blur that was Wolverine interrupted his contemplations by zigzagging forward and ducking out of sight behind a tree. Luke kept his eyes peeled on both sides, but the man never emerged from either side. Luke began to back away, wondering what the man could be up to. But before Luke knew what was up, the man had jumped out of the tree from its branches to tackle Luke into the ground. As Luke caught on to what happened, he found one of Logan's razor sharp claws hovering dangerously close above his neck.

The man got up after Luke admitted defeat and allowed his student to knock off the extra weight placed on him. At first for Luke, it was more of rough guesses on weight, but he was getting better and better at judging it now.

"Session's over kid. Same thing tomorrow. Until then, go inside, eat, and rest for team session later tonight."

With a sigh, Luke began strolling back towards the Danger Room entrance as the environment around him faded into nothing. It was cool when Luke first saw the labyrinth come out of the floor, but when Logan started making 3d environments that he could interact with, Luke took Charles at his word for state of the art technology.

The elevator ride gave Luke the personal time to discover that he reeked. Taking a shower would be his first priority. After said shower, he had a can of Chef Boyardee waiting on him in the pantry.

10 minutes later

Luke sighed yet again as he stepped out of his shower and into clean clothes. Who cared he'd need another one by the time he finished the team session? Grabbing his phone off the dresser and plugging in a pair of headphones, Luke cut on his music and began humming along as he made his way down to the kitchen. He found his prize still waiting in the pantry. Popping it open, putting it in a bowl and nuking it in the microwave, Luke finally let himself relax. He could definitely get used to this kind of life. Right as the buzzer on the microwave went off, Luke felt a prickling in his head and heard a voice.

'_X-men, we have a situation. Report to the Blackbird hangar immediately for briefing and prepare for a trip.'_

'_A trip? Professor, do you want me to go? I'm not exactly an X-man yet, am I? I don't mind house sitting for you. My motorcycle is supposed to come in this afternoon today anyways.'_

'_I want you to come with us, Luke. You may not be an official part of this team yet, but you need to see how things are handled in the field before we can let you onto the team.'_

Luke nodded, but he face-palmed a second later because he knew the telepath couldn't see it. Glancing back at his food, Luke toughened up and did the next best thing before leaving. He grabbed a protein bar and a can of Dr. Pepper from the fridge before running back to the elevator. Nobody else was up top, as far as Luke knew. Wolverine had gone back downstairs to supervise a exercise that the Professor didn't think he needed to be part of. Something about having enough experience breaking in anyways.

The elevator hit the basement level and the he hurried down the hallway to the hangar and onto the Blackbird, where the rest of the mutants were waiting. The active mutants were already in combat attire, which Luke couldn't blame them for. The suits were so dang comfortable. Once everyone was there, the Professor began to speak to all the mutants assembled, while Kurt of all people began to fly the plane out of the hangar and into open air.

"I've already informed the others, but we're on a mission to Mississippi, Jackson specifically, to retrieve a young girl who's powers have just developed. She's a danger to herself and others and it's important that we reach her before something goes wrong."

Luke nodded his head, already agreeing. Newbie mutants were bad and dangerous. Emotional, unreliable, and uncontrollable. The Professor was smart to look after new mutants before they got picked up by crime or sold off as personal guards. And since all of that happened under the radar, there wasn't much chance to rescue anyone from that situation.

Scott reported back to his leader, yammering about approved in Jackson airspace. Luke ignored it while he munched on his bar and hurriedly drank his soda. Luckily, Storm didn't take it away from him, but her look of disapproval wasn't a good thing either. As the trip went by, Luke let his thoughts wonder and decided somehow that he was going to advise the Professor to keep the team an extra pair of uniforms to go in the Blackbird. But asides that, the trip was relatively peaceful. Kurt messed around outside the plane, made Kitty mad, and her response was to pout. For some reason, Luke had expected more out of Xavier when he warned Kurt about playing around. He had such a serious tone, but he never punished anyone for anything. After the holes were fixed in the Mansion's walls, the telepath never brought it back up, let alone scold the brown-haired mutant for it.

The plane landed down and the X-men departed from it, driving off in a van. Xavier had said that a boy in the hospital was connected to the runaway mutant girl, so now they had to sit in a crowded van and wait while Jean, who dressed up in a ridiculous nurse's attire and somehow made it to the unconscious victim's room, relayed for Charles, who delved into his mind to find whatever he was looking for. Kinda boring for Luke, because he couldn't do anything but bite back witty remarks about Jean dressed like a nurse.

Once Jean was back, the X-men were split up. Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat were to search in one part of town, while Storm, Cyclops, Jean, and Luke got to search the other. Since the Professor couldn't get a lock on her mind, this meant they got to wander around for a bit.

After a while of fruitless searching, the Professor said that Cody's brainwaves had disappeared. That meant absolutely nothing to Luke until Wolverine hopped over the fence and said she was 10 gardens over. Finally, they had found her and something could be done! But then Xavier started talking to a voice that wasn't there and started speaking telepathically to Kitty.

"When are we gonna go? I wanna find this girl before midnight so I can go home and eat some real food!"

"In time Luke. Kitty just informed me that somehow Kurt has been incapacitated and the girl is gone using Kurt's powers. I can track her now through Kurt's brainwaves. Wolverine, you tend to Kurt while I guide the others to the girl."

With that, Luke's group started running. For some reason or another, the telepath guided them to a graveyard, where they saw the girl sitting down and resting. Jean elected herself to go talk to her. Luke was fine with that. He didn't want to risk being knocked out like Kurt. But as soon as Jean gave her a communicator and Storm, Cyclops and himself started to walk over, the girl freaked. Scott missed a tackle and ate mud while the two girls started talking about why she ran off. Luke helped Cyclops out of the mud before pointing out the obvious.

"If Scott's epic fail tackle didn't scare her, then maybe she just hates being surrounded. We did crowd her."

The girls didn't take the idea to well, but shrugged it off either way. They still had to find the girl again and calm her down. The Professor began feeding in more directions to the group and they made their way to the opening of a grave, when the girl ran out, obviously spooked, and pushed Scott, who was the closest, back into the mud. When his head bounced off of the ground, one of his beams shot out and hit overhanging electric wires, sending a shower of sparks everywhere.

Luke helped the teen back up to his feet again while the 'Rouge headed back inside the grave, only to appear in the air via **'Bamf'**. She teleported again to save her own skin from the fall, but still hit hard. Jean tried to help her up, but the girl was steadily crawling away. And then when Strom tried to help her, Luke saw a flash of white and then hell broke loose. The winds began pushing in, alongside rain and thunder. Luke had never seen what Storm could really do, but if it was anything like what the girl was doing now, then Storm was awesome. And unconscious in a pool of water to boot.

Seeing how the situation was heading from bad to worse, Luke began what he thought was best. Weighing himself down so he didn't get thrown around like a leaf. Jean and Scott were fine inside her force field, but when another power line got hit by the crazy weather, the two redheads began going after Storm. A moment later, Luke saw why. Immediately he shouted to Jean "I'll pull her out if you lift her up!"

The redhead complied and began lifting the conked out woman out of the water. Luke began jerking his hands back, as if pulling on an imaginary rope as Storm was pulled out of the way was the power line tower came crashing down.

And just when Luke prepared himself to handle the Rouge, she vanished by another teleport. A second later, the weather cleared up and the sky reappeared. Letting out a sigh of relief, Luke turned to his team and helped Scott carry Storm.

Xavier and the others showed up carrying Kurt, who was still out of it. The man admitted defeat, much to Luke's disappointment, but said that someone else was interfering. Joy. The last thing he needed right now was someone messing with the team's mission. Luke was soaked to the bone from rain and felt like he had been in a giant tornado. He was not in the mood.

"Mystique." The name snapped Luke out of his funk and got him focused. If Mystique was here trying to get the Rouge girl, then she must want her on the same team as Crystal. Kurt and Ororo woke up after the others finished talking. Everyone got a kick out of Kitty gushing over Kurt. Luke felt happy for the blue guy. He needed a little love. It was even funnier when Kurt swooned. Scott felt the need to mouth out something to the blue elf, but Kurt didn't smile in the slightest, so whatever it was must've ruined his mood.

The team made their way back to the plane and got home right at sunrise. Thankfully, Logan didn't have a morning session planned and Luke could play hooky. He didn't have the energy to deal with school. So when Luke walked into his room and found a small smelly little guy perched on the window sill, he almost didn't care.

"What do you want? Here to kill me? Because if you are I swear that I'm gonna kick your ass so hard you'll use the bathroom with your mouth."

The scrawny fellow turned around and Luke recognized him from the office at school. Todd Tolanski. He was wearing a funny outfit that was too big for him and hung down over his hands, but Luke could still see a disk case in his hands.

"No, I'm not here to kill ya. Keep it down though. I'm delivering a message for you. Crystal wants you to meet her after school tomorrow. You two have some things to discuss. See ya later, chump."

And with that, the bratty little mutant hopped out the window and off into the woods towards the property line.

'_Damn. I'll tell Professor about that when I wake up. For now, I gotta sleep.'_

At School - Principal's Office

"I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself here, where you'll be safe and secure. And with Crystal here to show you around, I'm positive that you'll see what all this place has to offer."

Mrs. Darkholme was back in her office, just finishing her speech for her newest student. Rouge may not have been very secure herself, but the shape-shifter was confident that she could keep a hold of the power stealing mutant. When the girl and her blonde escort left the office, Mystique saw her paper clips acting up and knew her true leader was here.

"She'll make a fine addition to our side. She's a powerful mutant, but are you sure you can keep her with us and not with Xavier's bunch? We cannot afford to lose her, Mystique. And I expect that information from Cerebro by tonight. Don't keep me waiting."

Xavier's Mansion - 2:45

Luke had been up from his nap for an hour now, still thinking over what happened before he fell asleep. The Professor had talked to him about it, telling him that over night, someone had broken in and gotten a copy of every mutant on file from Cerebro, Xavier's mutant detection system. Luke took this as bad news. So he knew what he had to do.

His motorcycle had come in yesterday, as it was supposed to, and Luke gladly rode it to school. He had a date, after all. He couldn't roll up in a van and still have an ounce of self-pride. No, he needed his motorcycle.

Crystal was waiting for him in the parking lot and much to Luke's surprise, she had a friend. A friend that Luke had seen last night in Mississippi. Which was a long ways away, even with Kurt's teleport. Uneasy, Luke wanted to question his blonde friend about her silent escort, but she shut him up and told him that he needed to listen first.

"Luke, I wanna get this out of the way so we can stop walking on pins and needles. I'm a mutant, she's a mutant, and you're a mutant. We're on Mystique's team, and you're on Xavier's and we all know that we aren't our teams aren't friendly, to say the least. We don't have to be enemies though. The X-men aren't your friends. Its kinda obvious that the only person on your team that you like is Kurt, who's too far in love with Kitty to be a friend to you. I'm your only friend around here and I don't wanna fight you. Todd took that info last night and Mystique is gonna use that to gather enough mutants to shut down the Institute, one way or another. I don't want you to be on the losing team here. The Brotherhood is open to you, if you wanna come."

Luke sighed, running his hand through his hair. This was what he was afraid of and what he and the Professor talked about. Even though it was planned for, that didn't mean Luke was comfortable with the question. He had a role to fill, however.

"Where do I sign up at?"

Amanda, who was expecting an argument or a fight, was shocked that Luke gave up so easily, but didn't question it. She was being honest when she said that she didn't want to fight Luke.

"I'll show you the place. Follow me."

Crystal and Rouge got in her car while Luke followed behind them on his bike, heading out of town and onto a dirt road that led to what used to be an overgrown shack. Now it was a rundown overgrown shack.

Crystal led the two inside, leaving Luke at the door and leading Rouge up to her room. Once she came back down, she yelled at her other housemates "Guys! We got a new recruit! Get down here and meet him!"

A few rumbles later and a slammed door, and two guys appeared on the stairway. One was Todd, the other some rough looking punk. Todd didn't even bother to introduce himself, just looked Luke over before pouncing off. The other guy introduced himself as Lance and shook hands with him. Crystal piped up and asked in fake concern "Where's Terrence? Surely he would want to see his best friend in the whole wide world?"

Luke nearly started sweating buckets then and there. Terrence wasn't part of the plan at all. If he showed up, then Luke was gonna bail.

"Springload is out doing whatever. He'll be back before dark like always. He's just lucky he isn't enrolled in school yet."

'_Gotta be quick. I'll die here if Terrence makes it back before I'm gone.'_

_Dark thoughts aside, Luke was shown around the crappy little abode, stopping at the kitchen to eat old leftover pizza, before being shown upstairs. After being told strictly not to go in one room, which he concluded to be Mystique's, he went to his own room. It was nothing more than 4 walls and a bed, but that was fine by him. After waiting for five minutes and relaxing on the bed Luke started peeking his head out the door and making sure the hall was empty. Luke listened for his other housemates. Crystal was on the phone, Rouge was probably still in her room sleeping after being up for so long, and Todd and Lance were downstairs fighting over the TV remote. Luke eased out into the hallway, taking care to tread lightly. He'd only get one shot at this._

_At Mystique's door, he affirmed that the door was locked, but broke it with his powers and a twit of the wrist. Near silently, Luke entered the room and shut the door behind him. He didn't have long before someone found out he was missing. But what he was looking for was right by the door. Todd must've slid the case file under the door because he couldn't get in the room himself. Luke opened the case file and saw the dick that contained the missing mutant info from Cerebro. Lifting it out of the case, Luke pulled out an empty case from under his shirt tucked in his jeans and placed the disk into it. Still holding the now empty case after putting his case back in position, Luke opened the door to see Crystal, Todd, and Lance all standing there._

"_You didn't really think we were gonna let you roam around and do whatever, did you? I know you came here for that disk, Luke, but you're not leaving here with it."_

_Crystal stood at the doorway, anger all over her face as flashes of light would emanate off her skin. Luke could see Lance or Todd wince every now and then as a stray ray of light blinded them. But he didn't care that he had been caught. He had got what he came for and Xavier could sleep easy. If he made it back to the mansion alive anyways. With a flick of his wrist, Luke knocked the glass out of the window behind him, gathering up his power inside of him and lightening his own body weight. Crystal still stood in anger, maybe blinded by it, or maybe because she was scared to move against Luke. _

_But the other two Brotherhood goons weren't. Shoving Crystal out of the way, both came running into the room only to be thrown back out as Luke released his power in an open palmed push. Luke waved at Crystal, who was now shocked more than anything, and dove out of the window. Luke hit the ground light as air thanks to his feather-like state and ran to his motorcycle, nearly shouting at his clean get away. Lance and Todd were running out of the house after him, but Amanda was staring out the window._

_Cranking his bike up and turning it around, Luke sped out of the drive and was nearly to the road when two things happened. First, Luke went upside down while flying through the air. Second, Crystal slumped down on the spot by the window, passed out from exhaustion._

_Luke crashed down on the hard earth and dully noticed glittering rocks that had spouted on the drive and flipped his bike, trashing it. One of the tires was shredded, so he'd have to leave the bike for later. Maybe the Brotherhood wouldn't ruin it if it wasn't already. Pushing himself up and dusting himself off to smearing the blood into his shirt, Luke took out running, but the ground began to shake beneath him, buckling and throwing him into the air. Luke pushed himself off the ground with steps that made him look like he was running in air. Thankfully, he was still light from draining his own body weight off, so it was easier to stay afloat. Pushing himself higher and higher, Luke spotted the mansion and began his personal marathon race, a mixture of controlled falling and floating._

_But Todd was still after him, leaping at incredible heights and making great distance on him. After catching up to Luke, the unhygienic teen shot out his tongue and nearly got a hold of the case, but Luke slapped the tongue out of the air with a push and threw Todd down towards earth in a heap with the wave of his arm._

_Sighing yet again at his momentary safety, Luke began to examine his situation. He was hanging nearly fifty feet over the ground and was staying there. It was like a hot air balloon, only more tiring. So tiring, that Luke knew he couldn't make it back to the mansion. After a few minutes, Luke let himself fall to the ground, knowing he had lost the Brotherhood a long time ago. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed the number as planned._

"_Professor, I got it. Mission accomplished. Now come get me and take me home. I still got a bowl of Chef Boyardee in the microwave with my name on it."_

_AN: Chapter done! How's that for ya? I have to apologize before I get too carried away. I forgot last chapter, in my hurry to update, to put where the song title came from. It's an Eminem song off of Recovery, just like this chapters. Just wanted to clear that up before I forgot again. And for anyone that thinks the Chapter Titles are unrelated, well…I'm picking songs off of my Iphone's shuffle. So get over it._

_It's a little short, but I didn't have much opportunity to insert Luke in the original episode. Sorry. But that's why I had the original stuff. So Enjoy and R&R. I'll get back to you guys later. Big Willis out!_

_And special thanks to my favorite little Beta ever. He may not of updated lately, but I've been trying to keep him busy with beta work. I can't let my slaves get fat and lazy while I work tirelessly on this keyboard, now can I?_


	6. Fast Lane

AN: Ok folks. The lines have been drawn. It's time to see just how well this chapter goes. Last chapter was near garbage in my opinion, mostly because I couldn't find a way to make Luke useful in the episode's plot. So now that I have a better episode to work with, I hope that you and I both like this chapter better than the last. Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution or anything else that belongs to Marvel. The only thing I own is personal issues. Does anyone want to buy those from me?

Chapter 6

Fast Lane

The crowd was loud. The music was loud. The blood pulsating in his ears was even louder as he watched the show in front of him. It was organized mayhem. If he was as naïve as most other's would believe, he would've never understood why this had become so popular. But he knew. There was nothing else in the world like seeing road rage, rednecks, and giant trucks all put in a tiny area.

Luke cheered along with the rest of the crowd as Mud Slinger made a perfect jump, landing on the target car with his back wheels, crushing it. To spit on the car's grave, the driver spun his tires for a second, tearing the metal even more before he drove off. Feeling hoarse already, Luke turned to see his companions sitting in silence. Despite what their get-up would say, neither of the two were any fun at a show like this. Jean did look pretty in her outfit, though.

Stowing that thought away, he asked her over the crowd "When's the big guy supposed to get here? That's what you guys came here for, right?"

Jean was about to reply, but thought better of it. She didn't want to scream her lungs out to be heard. So instead, she simply pointed out to the arena floor. Emerging from one of the entryways was a cloaked man, standing high with a massive girth. He had his hair done in a Mohawk and when he dropped the cloak, he was wearing a wrestler's suit. Almost immediately, Luke opinion of this mutant changed.

"Are you sure we should bother with this guy? How can you be sure that he's a mutant with super strength and not a human with a lot of weight to throw around?"

'_X-genes don't lie, Luke. He has enough power to be picked up by Cerebro, so he needs to be looked at. If we can help a mutant, any mutant, we should. That's what the institute is all about.'_

'_What about all the fighting, training, and bitter rivalry we have with the Brotherhood that you guys didn't inform me of? A little warning would've been appreciated when it comes to dealing with unknown mutants of shady character.'_

Luke had reported back several things to the Professor after his little adventure with the Brotherhood, who had promptly informed the team. While Luke learned that the team already knew of Toad and Avalanche, or whatever Lance called himself, they didn't know about Crystal or Springload. Or the fact that Mystique was drawing them all together into a team much like the X-men with an unknown purpose and agenda asides ruining the X-men.

But what bothered Luke was the fact that the X-men hadn't connected the dots on their own. It didn't seem that hard to connect when two mutants who were opposed of the X-men were housed together by their benefactor, Mrs. Darkholme. Letting it die, Luke never heard a response from Jean nor did he expect one. She stopped talking immediately if he tried to goad her into a conversation she didn't like. That pretty much meant that she would never talk to him about anything unless she was the one who started the conversation.

Back at the arena floor, the large man was introduced. As a teenager.

'_Dang that's a big ass teenager. How many boxes of Wheaties do you have to eat for breakfast to get that big?'_

The rotund guy picked up two chains for his performance of strength, one in each hand and wrapped around his wrist. After making sure his stance was firm, (Not that it was necessary in Luke's opinion. After all, it would take a semi to move that kid) the signal was made for the trucks at the other end of the chains to start. Spinning their tires for a split second, Luke watched in near shock, waiting for both arms to get violently ripped off of the teen as the trucks pulled forward. But the teen held his ground firmly and didn't give an inch. And then, the monster of a teen pulled both truck back towards himself so hard that they collided, which he avoided by jumping well over the trucks. When he landed the tires popped underneath him and the trucks groaned from the new burden.

"Now that last part was cool. That's the only thing I couldn't have done."

Logan turned to his student and grunted. "Throwing trucks around is out of your range kid. I've seen you throw a few hundred pounds around, but trucks like that would pull you apart. This kid, big as he is, is the real deal."

"I wasn't talking about the trucks, Logan. I was talking about jumping that high when I weighed that much."

Before Logan could comment on that, the large teen performer began his bows, but was thrown off balance and tumbled into the dirt below. The crowd immediately began laughing, jeering at the show's main attraction, who they had all been impressed and scared of a few seconds ago. Funny how one thing could change the fickle mood of the crowd.

The mutant stormed out from the arena floor, anger plastered all over his dumb face.

'_At least he didn't trip again.'_

The show was over after Fred, (or the Blob, whichever he went by) so the crowd began to disperse and Luke watched in amazement as every last drunk made their way down the arena steps without falling. It killed him how all of them could get so trashed at a state fair, but by tomorrow, they would all be fine. A little hung over, but ok. That's why the phrase 'Iron Liver' still held weight. Because the South was full of people who did nothing but get plastered on the weekends and stay hung over all week.

Ignoring his thoughts and growing jealousy, Luke shuffled through the crowd after Jean and Logan, who didn't bother to make sure he knew where they were going. They were just considerate like that. The trio of Institute mutants made their way to the performer's dressing rooms and were greeted by the sound of smashing.

Logan went on the alert, pacing forward carefully as he made his way down the hall. The sounds stopped, and just when the three got to the source of the sound, the door shut in their face. Logan snarled and nearly kicked the door in, but turned and left. Jean followed without question, but Luke wasn't so eager to give up.

"Why aren't we gonna stop and talk to him? Did we come all this way just to see a show?"

"Looks that a way, bub. There isn't a chance of us getting to him right now. Didn't you see who was in there? Mystique has already got her clutches on him."

The memory of the woman's nail's digging into his shoulder came to mind. For someone disguised as Mrs. Darkholme and has all the responsibilities of a principal, she sure did get around a lot. Luke could respect that. But he would never show it. The woman now hated him with a passion after she heard the news about what happened at the Brotherhood home/shack. Luckily, he had been able to take a day off since Xavier understood his plight when he had to move around with aches and pains. Floating might have gotten easier since he first tried, but it still hurt.

The trip back to Bayville was in silence, which was fine by Luke. His headphones were all the company he needed. Kurt would've been nice to talk to though. Night quickly turned to day and after a few hours of rest at the mansion, it was time for morning session and school.

This morning was a similar to the last session. It was a team building exercise where two teams would be made and they would have to either capture the flag or guard the flag. The attacking team would have three people, but the DR security was set on medium and only targeted them.

Luke preferred to be the defense team with Kurt, because the other team would never win. With Luke weighing the flag down as much as he could and without Kurt's teleporting abilities on the attacking team, defense was set. Jan couldn't lift it, Scott wouldn't try, and Kitty knew better.

But on offense, like today, Luke used his craftiness to earn his flag. The setting was always in a city type area and the flag was in a building with four entrances to it. That was three to many for someone like Luke. Today, it was him, Kurt, and Scott attacking. It was simple enough. Kurt would distract Kitty while Scott got handled by Jean, leaving Luke open for the snag.

Scott came into the building on the left side, as planned. This side had the smallest amount of items for Jean to throw around, making it safer for Scott. Kurt popped in on the right, near the ceiling rafters and was about to pounce Jean to disrupt her assault on Scott, when Kitty tackled him out of the air, preparing to phase them both through the ground. In a puff of thick smoke, the two were gone.

Watching all of this from the building's skylight, Luke lifted one glass window and spotted his target. The flag was wedged in between two crates to make it hard to get out unless you were pulling from the top. With his powers, Luke could pull it from anywhere in any direction. After all, gravity was everywhere at all times. That's how the Professor explained his powers during their last session and Luke went with it.

With a swift jerk of his hands, the metal pole came flying towards his open palm. Clutching the cold metal, Luke ran off towards his drop off point, making leaps across the rooftops by lightening himself. Making record time, Luke was about to pat himself on the back when Shadowcat rose up from the ground in front of him and leaped forward.

Without thinking, a pulse of gravitational force blew Kitty away, who was still solid from her jump off of the rooftop. If it wasn't for the fact he was in pain and he was sure he had caused a great deal of pain, Luke would've laughed his ass off when Kitty's face met that pulse. Clutching at his chest for a second as he caught his breath, the muscle-powered mutant jacked up a wet cough of blood into his hands. Ignoring that for the moment, Luke rushed over to her and made sure she was all right.

A few tears rolled down the preppy girls face as she bit her lip to hold back a cry. Her face was terribly red and her nose was the worst. A small trail of blood was leaking down it, instantly tearing at Luke's consciousness.

'_It may be broken. Damn I wish I hadn't done that. Freakin' nerves are making me jumpy.'_

In a matter of seconds, the simulation died and the team all assembled around Kitty. While Storm, the morning overseer, carried Kitty off to the med bay with Kurt, Scott rounded on Luke. A glow was barely concealed behind his visor, and if Luke could see past the red tint, he was sure he would see anger.

"What was that for, huh? Is it that important that we capture a stupid fake flag that you'd hit Kitty like that? Or do you think it's funny? This has all been one big laugh to you, hasn't it? If we're such a joke to you, then why don't you just leave and go back to whatever it was you did before? We obviously aren't up to your caliber and are holding you back, so what's there to stick around for?"

Oh hell no. Scott was not about to rant on him. It was not the time of day for this kind of thing, nor was it Scott's place to lecture. Stupid leadership complex must've gotten to his head.

"It was an accident, Scott! You think I wanted to smack Kitty like that? You're mentally challenged! She jumped me, I panicked, and then she wound up hurt. If it was intentional, she would be across the room right now. And if you think that I'm not taking this seriously, then maybe you should loosen the strap on your goggles because you've lost oxygen to the brain. My life is on the line every day now until I find the woman that wants me dead, so I am taking this seriously. But if you don't want me to be one of your precious little 'X-men', then I won't. I'd hate to see the big bad Cyclops get angry with me."

Luke's tone as he defended himself and took shots at Cyclops didn't go unnoticed by Scot or Jean, who decided to speak her piece.

"Your hand is covered in blood and you say it was an accident? You hit her in the face! People don't accidentally try to knock someone's block off whenever they get jumpy."

"Maybe you don't, but I do. Ninety percent of the people who scare me or attack me want me dealt with, so my response isn't that over exaggerated. And I didn't punch her. I let off a pulse that she collided into. The blood is just what I coughed up from that pulse. If you guys insist that I was trying to pick a fight with Kitty, then by all means, do something about it. Oh, my bad. I forgot something. You can't."

And with that little piece said, Luke strode past them, bumping Cyclops on the shoulder as he past by. Then, the leader of the X-men did something very stupid. He took a swing at the back of Luke's head. Jean was shocked by what Scott did, but not as shocked as when she saw Scott go flying back in a tumbling ball. Turning back to Luke, who looked rather calm at being hit even though Jean could see the knot on his head forming, she glared at him before slamming into him with a telekinetic burst that sent him skidding back on his heels.

Luke turned to his new attacker and said one thing.

"Bad move, Red."

The next thing Jean knew was an overbearing weight pressing down on her, smothering her in it's pressure. She collapsed to the floor as more pressure built on top of her. It was getting harder to breathe and white patches were growing in her vision. He chest burned to get more air into it's lungs, but the weight would not have it. Her attempts to push back were futile, with her distraught clouding her powers. Before the world grew black, a flash of red erupted and the pressure was gone.

Tears streamed from her eyes as Jean caught her breath and blinked at the fight in front of her. Scott was mad, opening his visor as far as it would go as he tore into Luke with his laser vision. But despite the power visible to Jean, Luke was holding his own by merely standing there. The laser was being held back by an unseen force that fluctuated. The laser would creep forward, then be pressed back. She noticed this was in measure with Luke's breathing and promptly informed Cyclops telepathically before collapsing back on the floor.

Scott felt the faint whispering in his mind as Jean told him about Luke's protection. Remembering what he knew about Luke's powers, Scott started marching forward, still firing as strong as his visor would go. Luke felt the pressure increase, but didn't worry. In a few seconds, his arm muscles would regenerate and this would all be over. Scott wouldn't even feel it. But Scott saw his attack wasn't pressing through, so he decided to escalate.

Maxing out the limit on his visor, he came forward and noticed with much relish that Luke was being pushed back. The non stop attack was wearing down on Luke, who's breaths were getting raspier and raspier, blood leaking from his mouth and down his chin a little. It started to pool a little in a red puddle at his feet. But Luke was far from done, kicking the floor and sending a shockwave of gravitational repulsion that stopped Scott from walking forward, if only for a second. That second was all Luke needed.

Capitalizing on his regained arm function, Luke began to pace forward, arms in front as they repeatedly pushed back the red beam in rhythm with the forward thrusts he made. The two mutants met in the middle of the room and as Cyclops tried to bear down on Luke, he found himself unable to. Luke merely reached up and placed his hands on Scott's brow. Cyclops eyelids became heavier and heavier as they shut and he was unable to reopen them. Blinded, he lashed out violently in front of him but found nothing.

Luke seized the opportunity to grab a hold of Scott's flailing appendages and restrain him violently, throwing him to the floor and pinning him.

"Now you listen here, you stubborn little prick. You may be older and the leader of this little team, but you don't run this show and you don't run me. If Xavier has I problem with me or how I do things, then I will gladly leave and apologize to him. But you need to get over yourself. I'm not here to hurt anyone, but if you want a fight, then I will bring it to your front door like the pizza delivery guy. Do we understand each other?"

Not a single thing was heard from Scott, not even a grunt.

"I'll open your eyes up when the Professor gets done talking."

The old man in the wheelchair rolled in right on cue, with Logan not far behind to scoop Jean up and out of the room. The man didn't say anything as he rolled over to the two teens. Not a single emotion was displayed on his face as he came to a stop. Scott seemed to sense he was there, but didn't say a word. That was probably for the better.

"You two sure seem to have hit it off rather nice this morning. Care to explain what happened?"

Neither of the two guys replied.

"Come on now. Don't make me dig it out of you. Because if I had to, I may just end up leaving you two with the notion that you were 6 year old girls that still wet the bed."

Luke kept his silence, not knowing whether or not the man was bluffing. He knew Cyclops was gonna cave in a second anyways.

"I'm sorry Professor. We got carried away over what happened in the session. It was my fault for starting it."

The man was about to nod and urge the teen to continue on, when Luke cut in, voice full of spite.

"It wasn't your fault for starting it. If you hadn't have swung on me, then you would've been a pushover. But it is your fault for making me mad enough to make you swing. You aren't being noble or heroic by owning up to this. You're being a suck up. Grow up a little."

Scott's jaw clenched shut like a vault door in Fort Knox, but the Professor was the one to defend his student.

"So if Scott isn't right, then are you? Who do you think caused all of this, Luke?"

Gritting his teeth, Luke fought the urge to knock the man out of his stupid chair on wheels.

"I think you caused this, Professor. You have us do morning sessions, compete us against each other, Kitty tries to get the jump on me to win, but I hurt her on accident. Scott goes ballistic, I make him even madder, and then we fight. Everything me, Kitty, and Scott did was all basic reactions to the circumstance you put us in."

"Very good. I'm glad you came to that conclusion. But the real question here is, are you comfortable with that? Are you comfortable to the fact that I _am_ testing you in such a way? I'm not denying that what we do here is dangerous in its own way, but can you handle this?"

Luke didn't know what to say. He was sure that the Professor was gonna snap and kick him out. He never expected the man to turn it back on him. What was he supposed to say? If he said yes then he was a jerk to the ninth degree. If he said no, then he probably would have to leave.

Without a word, the teen strode off from the two, tapping Scott on the head as he left to let the boy open his eyes again. He exited the Danger Room and headed over to the locker room, or more importantly, its sink. Cutting the water on, Luke spat out all the residual blood still leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Rinsing and gargling till he felt better, Luke changed into normal clothes and went back to his room for a shower. The question Xavier asked was still ringing in his head, almost making Luke wonder if the man was still asking him telepathically.

Marching down to the kitchen, Luke was met with the full team assembled over cereal. How nice. Ignoring them, Luke went to the pantry and busied himself pretending to look for something. There was only 4 more minutes until time for school anyways. Leaving the pantry with a oatmeal bar, Luke turned to the fridge and pulled out a full carton of milk. Glancing at the table, Luke saw a half-empty one that needed to be drank first. If only there wasn't 4 hostile teen mutants hovering over it.

Placing the full carton back, Luke hissed at the strain his arm was feeling. Even though his arms were fully functional, they were incredibly painful to move around. Turning to the table and grabbing the milk, Luke tipped it over and poured milk into his glass. Or he tried to. Not a single drop of milk came out.

Setting it back on the table, he turned to a very rough looking Jean, who was staring at her toast vacantly. She couldn't be the perpetrator. Staring at bread crumbs was way to distracting for her to block the milk telekinetically. The others on the team didn't have the ability to freeze the milk or hold it back in the container. So that meant a new mutant was among them, or his powers were acting up.

Leaving the milk, Luke capped it and put it back in the fridge, digging out a Dr. Pepper to chug down instead. The current company was killing the mood for his drink, so he left and went back to his own room. He had to grab a jacket and his bag anyways. Checking the time, Luke went down to the garage, ready to leave the mansion, even if that meant he had to go to school. That was a scary thought, once Luke stopped to think about it. But it was staring at the empty parking space that reminded him his bike was trashed.

'_Shit. So that means I gotta ride either Scott or Jean to school. This is gonna be a long morning.'_

The other four mutant students came to the garage without a word, but the look that Kitty gave him was a little reassuring. She didn't look mad or upset, but maybe a little scared. _'Not that I can blame her. I'm sure she's heard what happened by now.'_

Luke knew that it was going to alter any kind of developing team dynamic between him and the others. From now on they would see him as a powerhouse and stronger than them. But he wasn't. If Jean hadn't given that warning push, then she could've hit him over the head and dropped him. But she didn't know just how serious Luke got when he had to fight. Scott didn't know it, but his optic blasts did push Luke back for a bit while his arms recovered. If they hadn't healed back as fast, then he would've splattered Luke across the walls.

And even if circumstance did allow Luke to 'win', he still felt like he had lost to a bulldozer. He hurt all over, especially his heart. While the most dangerous muscle to use, Luke knew it was his most powerful. Scott had pushed him that far and Luke was going to be feeling it for a long time. Luke knew he wasn't the strongest guy around, but he also knew he wasn't a pushover. There was no way his pride would let someone like Scott beat him over such a stupid reason.

Smiling back at the younger girl, Luke dropped his face back to neutral when Jean started talking. She wanted a truce, or at least temporary peace while they were at school. Xavier didn't want the kids to expose themselves and if they fought, then that was bound to happen. She didn't have to tell him twice. He could hardly move, let alone fight.

"That's fine. I understand if you guys aren't happy with me or whatever, I'm sure I wouldn't be in your shoes, but no hard feelings or anything. It was all an accident and I think we should just bury the hatchet, so to speak."

3 out of 4 agreed, while the fourth just stayed silent. Luke was fine with that. If he wanted to be a baby over this, then he had every right to.

"So how are we getting to school? Is there a bus or something that comes by here?" _'Please let there be a bus. I can't stand being around Mr. Prickly over there and it'll only make him madder if I ride with Jean all the time. Plus, it's not like she really forgave me for choking her out like that.'_

"Yeah, there's a bus that comes by here really early in the morning and after 4th period. If me and Scott are busy after school then you guys can ride it back here instead of waiting on us. But didn't you have your own ride Luke? I remember Logan saying something about there being two motorcycles in the garage now."

Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to explain the best he could without really explaining. "There was an accident. So no, there's no bike anymore. I'll have to get another one soon. Maybe this afternoon."

Letting the subject drop, she looked over to Scott, who nodded. Scott hopped in his convertible with Kurt not far behind him. Glancing at the small room between Kurt and Scott, he shot a look of permission over to Jean. She nodded, and he happily climbed into the backseat of her van while Kitty giggled away in the front seat. She turned back and looked at him, her eyes bright now.

"So you and Scott, like, really got into it in the DR, right? You and him got into this big argument over what happened and stated fighting? So that must mean you're really strong if you walked out of there fine."

"Trust me, I'm not as fine as I look. And yes, we did fight. But what did you think happened in there?"

"I dunno. One second I was jumping at you to drag you through the floor, and then the next thing I know I'm on my butt and my I fell like I was hit by a wall. I don't blame you or anything though. I could tell by the look on your face that it was accidental."

Luke smiled at that and let the conversation die as the vehicle made it's way to the school parking lot. Stepping out of it, Luke eased his way over towards the main building just as the first bell started ringing. Arriving at class in time, Luke sat down in his seat and glanced over to Crystal, who was pretending she hadn't noticed him.

'_Oh please don't let her still be upset over the other day. What's she got to be mad about? She freakin wreaked my bike and left me skidding on the ground. I need to ask if it's still in their yard.'_

Before he could speak, a shadow descended on him as a pile of papers and worksheets slapped down on his desk. His teacher was daring him to say something, but Luke kept his mouth shut about all of the make-up work. After Mrs. Barnes had gotten out of earshot, Luke leaned over and whispered "Hey, do you still have any of this stuff? There's like 15 pages of work here."

For a single solid second, she didn't respond, then the blonde girl finally looked over.

"Nope. We had to turn it all in yesterday. But don't worry to much. It was easy enough for me to finish in a class period so I'm sure you'll be done in your 3 days. But if you're willing to pay the cost, I could take a second set of notes for you so you can focus on the worksheets."

Bullcrap. She had the most shit-eating grin he had seen in a while. He knew if he asked then he wouldn't get an actual answer, so he decided to do the smart thing.

"Ok. Thanks a lot for that. I figure that things would be weird between us now, but this is cool. I don't want to make us being enemies personal. We can still be friends right?"

Crystal ignored this and focused back on the board to begin scribbling way, but Luke could see the slight upturning of her lips in a smile. Getting back to his school work, Luke began marking away at the multiple choice while wondering what all she had in mind for him. She had already tricked into skipping a class and that was as a new friend/fellow comedian. Now that he was her friend/rival jokester/enemy, how much farther would she go?

The rest of the morning slipped by rather quickly as Luke was burdened with all his make up work. Lunch was an eager break for the teen until he saw the new faces in there. The big guy from last night, Fred Dukes or whatever his name was, had a full tray of food and looked ready to vacuum it all away. But Luke was more worried about the other new face sitting in a corner table with Lance and Todd. Terrence was at school today, after finally being enrolled by the principal. The new student looked up and caught Luke's stare, but merely smiled as if he knew something Luke didn't and went back to his food. Suddenly, Luke didn't feel hungry anymore.

Making his way to his normal table of him, Crystal, and whoever sat with her, the mutant felt his neck hairs stand on end for a second and ducked despite the complains his burning muscles were giving him. Looking back, Luke saw that the table Fred had sat down at overturned while a bunch of football players were covered in crappy food. Angry, they began to throw the food back at the large target and an all out food war erupted. Glancing around at his surroundings in the chaos as adrenaline began dulling the aches of his body, Luke dove under a table and tilted it up on its side, covering him. Crystal made her way back there as well, food covering some of her face. Luke just laughed as she rubbed it off and flicked it at him.

Terrence stood up from his spot and nodded to his two new teammates. Toad scooped up a rather hard roll and handed it to Terrence who wound his arm back like a pitcher. Lance began to concentrate and let a small tremor roll through the room as his eyes rolled back in his head. It disoriented most everyone in the room, but no one knew the source. The table Luke was hiding behind collapsed just as Terrence threw his roll on target and ran out of the room, looking pale.

A few seconds before the small quake, Luke had grabbed Crystal by the shoulder and maneuvered her to be right in front of him so he could get most of the food off her face. She had done a pitiful job on her own, so Luke decided to help her out. When the table fell down, neither had time to react before the roll collided with the back of the cheerleader's head and knocked her straight forward into a viscous head but of Luke's nose.

"Shit! Oh for crying out loud, what is your head made out of, rock? My nose…" Luke whined, while Crystal merely rubbed her forehead and giggled a little.

"One of the many reasons people call me crystal is because of my hard head. That, and I'm flawless."

"Did they mention you can be bought on nearly every corner for less than a dollar at the right vendor?

Once again, Luke's natural instinct to verbally lash out had scored. Not a word was said by the blonde as she turned to see the food fight come to an end. Pushing herself up, she turned to Luke to see him already standing and cleaning himself off, despite the fact he was never tagged with food. Glancing down while Luke was busy watching everyone else, the cunning girl saw some mashed potatoes to scoop up and smear into Luke's face. And she would have done that, if not a hand catching her wrist in a steel tight grip. Starring down at his rival in prankertude, Luke simply ticked his tongue wile waving a finger in her face like a child.

"Did you actually think I would take my eyes off of you?"

If she were any other kind of girl, Amanda might have just let that one die along with the faint blush on her cheeks. But she wasn't, so she had to open up her mouth to say something back. Luke had another idea however and simply put his finger in front of her lips, shushing her. Until she bit him.

Stepping back and shaking his stinging finger, he glanced at the proud cheerleader in front of him.

"I guess you're this freaky for all the guys who put things near your mouth, huh?"

Faintly, but ever so present, Luke's conscious decided to pipe up and say that maybe he shouldn't have gone that far. But he didn't care. Leaving the flabbergasted teen, Luke left the cafeteria as Jean began to leave as well, with Scott not bothering to hold the door for him along with her. Ignoring this, Luke went to History, and once again resumed make-up work. The class soon ended leaving the teen with a problem he had yet to face.

His computer class was empty when he looked inside the room, but as soon as he stepped inside the class, the door shut behind him loudly. Turning, Luke caught sight of his teacher and was already swearing.

The teacher was a young woman, probably in her late 20's with dark hair that rested past her shoulders and was rather tall. Luke still had to look down, of course, but not as much. She immediately pursed her lips and began her rant in an annoyingly condescending tone.

"You are either an incredibly stupid child, or an amazingly ignorant fool. To let a simple note deter you from even knocking on the door or asking the main office if I was here is utterly irresponsible on your part. And then you have the gall to simply not attend school yesterday, as if to avoid any disciplining for it. I'm not sure how any other teacher would handle this, but I will simply not stand for this. Sit down and don't open your mouth for anything until you are out of my classroom."

Rolling his eyes and blatantly defying her last statement, Luke asked "Where do you want me to sit?"

She didn't answer, her dark eyes revealing exactly what she wanted to express to Luke. So Luke decided to take a seat exactly in front of her desk. Glancing around at the rest of the class, Luke asked again "Where is everyone? The tardy bell should've rung by now."

At this, the teacher sat down in her plush chair and snippily informed him "You are the only student I have in this class right now. The other students either transferred or are in alternative school right now."

"So it's just me and you right now? Why would they even have this class if only one student is taking it?"

"This class is required by the state but is normally taken by 9th graders here. So everyone here has already taken it. But since it was on your schedule at your old school and you haven't finished the course yet, the councilors decided to place you in here. You and some other boy your age, Terrence. He's in my morning class, however. He was much more enjoyable than you are turning out to be."

Ignoring the jibe at him, Luke merely sighed at his lucky escape from Terrence. If they had the same class together, then he may as well just give the school a check for all the property damage they would do. His teacher returned to silence as she typed away at her school board.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

His teacher sighed exasperatedly, pulling open her desk drawer to grab what sounded like a near empty pill bottle. Popping the top on it, she poured two small round pills out and downed them with a single gulp. Placing the bottle back and glaring at her one and only student, she replied dryly "Nothing. Just sit there and be quiet."

Luke took the hint to shut up with a grain of salt, letting the lack of noise appease the woman before disrupting it by drumming his fingers on the desk. The faintest of twitch in her finger gave away just how annoyed she was to Luke. He stopped for a moment, then began again faintly humming. The twitch persisted, but the woman refused to glare at anything asides her monitor.

'_One last piece. Then she'll flip.'_

"Lollipop lollipop, oh lolly lolly lollipop. Badum dum dum…"

"Shut up! Shut up right now or go to the principal's office. You are so infuriating!"

Luke just smiled sweetly at his teacher before commenting off-handedly "You know, you never did introduce yourself to me. As a matter of fact, I never introduced myself to you either, so I apologize. I'm Luke Hensley."

Needless to say, 4th period was the longest period of the day for Luke, as well as his favorite. But when it was over, Luke soon found himself in a problem he hadn't faced before. As he left the school building, he spotted Crystal heading over to her car, and he also saw Kurt making his way towards a bus. He was now torn between either hanging out with her, or his teammates/housemates. And even though he was supposed to live with those guys, Luke was learning that their company wasn't the same as Crystal's.

Taking off after the blonde, he caught up to her just as she made it to her car and stopped her from opening the door with his hand. She turned and looked at him, before forcing the door open with her surprising amount of strength.

"Hey, no need to be like that. I was just wondering if I could ask a favor? I'll owe you one or something."

This gained all the attention Luke needed to quickly position himself comfortably in her front seat as she sped down the road, her destination uncertain. She glanced over at him every now and then to see what he was thinking, but his blank look kept him in the clear.

"So I was thinking that since my old bike is probably folded in half in a river somewhere that I should get a new one. I also thought that since I was getting a new one, it might as well be one that the chicks dig. And since Kitty and Jean are the only other girls I really know around here and they're busy, I decided to ask you."

They both knew that the last statement was a lie, but neither dared confess it.

"You want my opinion on what bike you should get?" To say she was confused by this would be an understatement.

"It's only fair since you wrecked my last one."

"Technically, you wrecked it by driving over those sharp and pointy rocks." She just had to point this out.

"And we all know that you grew those rocks out of the ground with the intention of me doing just that. And that's a pretty cool power. You can make rocks sprout up wherever whenever." The casualty at which he addressed her powers was unnerving. He had already figured part of it out with just one demonstration.

"Oh please. My powers are not that simple."

"They never are."

His cryptic answer led to the silence that filled the car until they arrived at the only dealer in town that handled motorcycles like Luke had had. Stepping out of the car and strolling over to the Kawasaki line-up, he turned to his companion and asked "Please tell me you aren't a Harley-Davidson kinda girl? I hate those loud things."

The lack of reply didn't concern Luke as he made his way through the line-up until he hit the model that was the same as his, give or take a few years.

"Found it. You like this one, right? I used to pick up all the girls on this thing in Virginia. But then again, those girls just wanted to ride somewhere to do anything. So I need to ask a girl with a little class if she likes this one. Maybe I should've come here with Jean after all."

Finally, he provoked words out of her. "Fine. I'll just leave and you can call her up here. If she's not still being raped by that fat guy."

Luke turned to the pissed blonde and questioned seriously "What are you talking about? What's that Fred guy doing with her?"

Crystal shrugged her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. "I don't really know. I just heard around school that she was being all friendly and that he left school with her. He probably took her being nice as being hit on, but whatever. He's her problem for now."

Rather than be worried, Luke remembered just how hard he had been hit this morning by Jean's warning shot.

'_No way she can't take him. She's got that in the bag, if she's actually being attacked or whatever. Plus Scott practically stalks her everywhere, so Fred doesn't really stand a chance.'_

Turning back to his motorcycle of desire, he asked once again "So do you like this one or not?"

She walked over and looked at it for a moment, before nodding her head. "Yeah, this one's cool. It's better than the other one over there because it doesn't look like a 4 year olds. This one will do."

Grinning, Luke walked over to one of the men patrolling around outside that had ignored them so far and asked "Is the guy that deals with Kawasaki gone for the day or is he still in?"

A few minutes later, he was sitting down with Crystal in a comfy chair while an older grey-headed man began clicking away at his computer. Luke had already filled out his order, so to speak. The man had to check the registry to find a motorcycle to match his description, get the exact price, order it over to this dealership with all the paperwork, then sell it. It made Luke glad he didn't have to work at a job like this. Or anywhere at all for that matter.

Amanda glanced sideways at Luke, wondering inside her head just who the guy beside her was.

'_How could a kid younger than me afford another motorcycle to replace the one I destroyed? Is he really all that rich from being a hired out mercenary like Terrence? And why does he want me here with him? I wrecked his bike in the first place, so why would I be here for him to buy the next one?'_

The man turned, probably wondering about how Luke could afford this as well, and told Luke that they had found his motorcycle in Pittsburg and that it would be delivered here by the end of the week. Seeing as that was all they could do, the two left and returned to Amanda's car. The sun had gone down surprisingly fast and the last of the day's light was shining straight in Luke's eyes, despite the fact that the sun was on the other side of Crystal.

Thinking about why that was, Luke turned over to his insane driver and bit his tongue to keep from shouting. She was sparkling. And in more than just his mind playing tricks on him because she was pretty. She was genuinely sparkling.

"When did that start happening?"

She didn't say anything for a second, but replied back "Last week when I learned what I could do. I've been covering it up with make-up, but I doubt that it'll help much longer. And then I'll be a freak."

Luke opted not to say anything for the rest of the ride home, but when they arrived at the mansion, he asked her to stay out in the car and wait on him. Something about a present that would make them even.

After waiting for what felt like an hour, Luke finally emerged from within the building, cleaning his ear with one hand and holding something behind his back in the other. Opening the car door, he jokingly said "I think you should owe me now. I just got chewed out terribly for not helping Jean and grounded forever, but I got what I wanted."

With that, he threw what appeared to be a watch from behind his back. She caught it in her hand and examined it for a moment. It looked like a standard women's athletic watch. At his urging, she put it on.

"There. Now hit the button on the side and look at yourself in the mirror."

She did as instructed, mystified by the tone in his voice and odd instructions. She soon saw why Luke was being so mysterious. He had made her stop glittering. Jumping out of her car, she slid over the hood and grabbed Luke into a tackle of a hug that knocked him off his feet.

"You're so cool for this! I won't have to worry about school or cheerleading anymore. I can be normal!"

"Yeah yeah. The watch can be turned on or off from the side button, battery life is 10 years, waterproof, blah blah blah. The point is that you owe me now. So get up and go home and let's forget you just tackled me."

She helped him up before punching him in the arm.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. To anybody. No one knows about those watches so if you tell anyone, we will destroy your's. Now have a good night."

Luke walked back inside to the mansion as Crystal drove off like a maniac towards her own home.

'_And I thought today was gonna be bad.'_

AN: I am so sorry guys. Really. I could not begin to describe how bad I feel for waiting an entire month to update. But there is just cause, with spring break, state testing, my English teacher, being sick_, my English teacher, and some internal problems involving my English teacher. But I'm back on track, I already have notes on the next chapter and while you read this I may just be starting up on writing it. It's gonna introduce another OC that I like and further push how far I can make my characters go before I stop torturing them. I realize that Scott may have seemed weak in this chapter, but Luke is just that strong. I never intended for him to be a weak character. But I will say this. If Scott would have split his beam into multiple shots, Luke would've been toast. But that's neither here nor there. If anyone doesn't like the fact that I made Scott look bad, well don't worry. I doubt I could get away with it anymore. Song Title's from Bad meets Evil. So until next update, see you guys later. Big Wi11is, out!_


	7. When The Music Stops

AN: I can prove with 100% certainty that women can make men physically sick just by being around them. I've been sick, as I've said to anyone who read to the last author's note. I'm still sick whenever I get around a certain woman who I have to deal with for another 8 weeks. I am also quite pleased to know that it would only cost a grand to knock her upside the head in assault. It would be worth it, too. Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or its property. I sold my share of the business to by brass knuckles with my name and BIATCH on them. Can't wait to try them out.

Chapter 7

When the Music Stops

The weekend. The shortest part of the week and oftentimes the busiest for people. Teenagers especially. Teenagers looking to party even more so. So finding one of many parties going on in the local area wasn't hard at all for someone who was practiced at keeping his ear to the ground. One party stood out among others. A huge, parentless house filled with kids from every local school with plenty of drinks, alcoholic and otherwise, and an actual DJ.

Luke smiled to himself behind his helmet as he sped down the road. He wasn't entirely sure where to go, but he knew that he'd find it. It was kinda hard to hide a party that was as big as Luke suspected it to be. Maybe he should've carpooled, but then he would miss the chance to ride his freakin' awesome bike. He'd only had it for a week, but he was still amazed by it. Donny had done a great job.

Donny was a low class mutant that worked as a mechanic down in Maryland. Luke had met him a while back on one of his jobs and the two had become regular customers. Whenever another mechanic would set up shop to close, Luke would go and bust the place up. Whenever Luke wanted to fix his bike up with things that weren't entirely legal, he would go to Donny. Donny also did the great decal on his bike too.

Xavier wasn't exactly pleased with Luke's almost secret trip or his sudden purchase of a motorcycle. Apparently being grounded meant more than just having to do extra chores like he had thought. It also meant that you couldn't go out and do whatever you wanted to with your free time. The man had let it slide since Luke had been living on his own for so long and really had never been grounded. But after said little side trip, the man never did specify that Luke couldn't go partying. And that was a loophole Luke was going to exploit.

The party was only 4 miles out from the Bayville city limits, tucked away in a nicer neighborhood. With a little overheard direction and luck, Luke had found the party before it had gotten going strong. Parking his bike way off to the side to prevent any accidents from toasted teenagers, Luke made his way around back to a fenced in pool. Most of the loud, thumping vibrant music was originating from. And when Luke opened the wooden gate to the party, he did indeed find it.

People were everywhere. Whether in the pool, loitering around, or on the balcony overlooking the party. And the music. The music was so loud. Loud, but not to the point that it made it sound bad. In fact, it sounded better than Luke heard it on the radio or through headphones.

'_This is one good DJ. And at least he doesn't play crap like Lady Gaga, or not yet. I'm gonna leave as soon as he does.'_

Looking around for a familiar face, he found one, but not one he wanted to see. Before he could hide in the crowd, she had already made her way over and started talking.

"Hey Luke! Is this a great party or what? But, like, what are you doing here? I thought the Professor grounded you?"

Kitty looked great for the party. She was dressed modestly though, or at least she was compared to other girls. Luke appreciated that, as he always found it so trashy when things were hanging out of clothes. But no matter how good she looked, Luke couldn't help but groan internally.

'_Why does someone from the Institute have to be here? Wait, Kitty can't drive so that means that someone else drove her here. I wish thunder and lightning would just strike me down now.'_

Just as he was about to reply, a dark woman appeared out of the crowd and asked "Yes, What exactly are you doing here, Luke?"

"Research. I'm checking out the locals to get a feel for the town. Trying to make a few friends. After all, I hardly know anyone at school asides from the muties."

The noise of the party drowned out all of the conversation from being heard by bystanders, but the look on Storm's face was enough to tell she wasn't happy with his wording.

"As enlightening as your 'research' is, I doubt Charles would approve of this, especially unsupervised."

Luke focused back on the party, watching some girl with a cup in her hand trip and fall into the pool. "That's what you're here for, Mrs. Ororo. To keep me and little Kitty here out of trouble while we party away our youth. If you want to, I'll even let you test me for any beer or booze. I intend on keeping this trip entirely clean and as a learning experience."

Yeah right. Luke was here to party and was going to ditch one if not both X-women as soon as he could. He had people to meet, posse groups to assign, and girls to categorize. Storm would definitely cramp that up, but maybe Kitty wouldn't.

"Hey Kitty, where's the punch at here? I'm parched."

The brown haired girl pointed at the open glass sliding doors, leading to what he assumed to be the living room of the house. Even more people were inside there, most actually dancing. Luke took one last look around, before realizing that the DJ wasn't set up around the pool. He was inside.

'_How could he make the music sound so good out here when he's inside and there aren't any amps out here?'_

Before he could think on it too much, he was already on his second glass of punch watching the dance floor. Unlike Virginia, where he had to listen to the occasional country song, this party was strictly hip-hop. No pop songs or Bieber hits. Just songs that Luke would actually listen to. After all, who couldn't listen to **A Kiss** and say Bangladesh is a genius? Preventing himself from doing something stupid, like rapping along with the song, Luke settled for drinking a lot more punch.

It wasn't till a thump on the ear got his attention on the ever creepy friendly smile of Terrence Owens. Rather than flinch back or jump at his rival's sudden presence, Luke denied his enemy the pleasure of getting the drop on him. Instead, he quirked an eyebrow and asked "I thought you weren't the crowd type, Terrence? Don't tell me that you've turned into a party person and we've never gone partying together before?"

"The reason why is because of how gay you made it sound with that last statement of yours."

"Oh bite me, Terrence. We all know that I'm the only one out of the two of us that's ever had a girlfriend."

"She was paying you to. And who needs a girlfriend? They would just get in my way."

Luke sighed and stared out into the crowd, looking over all the girls that seemed to have a good time, regardless of present company. "True enough."

"The music's pretty good." This surprised Luke more than anything else in this situation. More than the fact Terrence was at a party, he wasn't ripping Luke's limbs off, and was playing nice.

"You like rap? I didn't think you liked anything!"

The smile merely widened before the ass shot back "I enjoyed your mom last night. But no I don't particularly like rap. I just think this is good."

Luke didn't let the insult faze him a second before he shot back as well "You probably weren't the only one."

If Terrence was surprised that Luke bagged on his own mom, he didn't show it. Instead he merely pointed into the crowd and asked "Isn't she one of the girls from your little team? The one Lance likes?"

Watching Kitty weave her way around everyone else on the dance floor with a surprising amount of footwork and grace, Luke just nodded and said "Yeah she might be. But she's gotta be jailbait for him though. She's only recently 16 or something like that. Why do you care?"

The fact that Terrence knew anything about his housemates' interest in girls was interesting in itself. As long as he had known him, Terrence had only enjoyed making himself looking good and everyone else look bad. Unless he had changed lately, Luke never would've thought that he would care about his Brotherhood.

"So what _are_ you doing here Terrence? You can't be here to kill anyone, or the party would already be in a panic. You aren't here to steal anything, or you never would've showed yourself to me. You aren't here to fight me or you would've just snapped my neck with one of your freaky kicks. What in the world would you be hired to do at a party like this?"

"I'm not being paid for this. It's an order to watch over two targets. As much as I hate doing things for Mystique, she has proven to be helpful. She even arranged for a new house to be built for us."

Luke could care less about the house. The fact that Terrence had just now gotten around to blackmailing his new boss into building a better place for him and his team was expected. No one should have to live in those kinds of conditions. But two targets? Maybe there were two developing mutants here, which would explain Storm and Kitty's presence here. Luke decided to change topic, as any further questions wouldn't be answered.

"So how are the housemates holding up? They don't seem like very hygienic people, to say the least. And I'm sure you've started whipping them into shape."

The ever-friendly face of Terrence quirked a bit, which startled Luke. Was Terrence not top dog at the Brotherhood? That was the only thing Luke could question with his reaction to the last question.

"They are… a lazy sort. The kind that will never be motivated to truly do anything with themselves. So I've been working on my own. Lance seems fine with keeping it that way. And as far as the house cleaning, Toad knows that he will either mop the floor properly, or with his tongue."

That sounded more like Terrence. Controlling everyone around him that was weaker. He would have it no other way unless he encountered someone stronger than himself. A nudge to his side prompted Luke to glance at what the offending appendage was pointing to. Kitty.

"She's looking for you. Are you trying to avoid her?"

Luke shook his head no, wondering what Terrence would've done otherwise. Suddenly, the music that had been lingering in the background of Luke's mind was shut off, much to his displeasure. He heard a microphone pick up, then a new voice speak up over the room's chatter.

"Sorry for interrupting the music folks, but I'll be back in five. Until then, enjoy the punch and try to stay out of trouble."

The mike was put down and the DJ walked away from his board, the only equipment Luke could see set up. Glancing over at his searching teammate and taking note of her white-haired shadow, he left his post asking "Keep them busy for me, would you? I get the feeling I'm not going to like what they're gonna tell me."

Not bothering to listen for a non-existent reply, Luke slipped back into the crowd, one of his favorite disguises, and made his way to where he assumed the bathroom was. That punch was moving through him like a train at the station. Finding it was easy enough, but what was waiting on the other side was much more complicated.

Opening the door, Luke had to stop and think for a second before shutting the door behind him. It sounded as if he had just stepped into a huge Youtube collage. He heard sounds, bits and pieces of words and lines from movies, songs, or anywhere. Each floated in the air for a second, only to be instantly replaced by another.

And in a moment, it was all gone. The sounds collapsed and were no more. Luke was breathless for a moment, only for it to be ended by the flushing of a toilet. Out of the corner came the DJ, fixing his belt back into place. Taking one look at Luke's face, the teen's turned sour.

Luke hardly had a moment's thought before a deep, sickeningly dead voice echoed in the room, saying "You won't tell anyone what you heard in here. Understand?"

Rather than be intimidated by the freaky voice, Luke just looked over the mutant before him and held out his hand. The DJ was a dark 17 year old, standing around 5'10 and wore a simple graphic tee and blue jeans. He would pass as a perfectly normal, average person if Luke passed him on the street. But his voice spoke of a multitude of reasons why he wasn't. The DJ hadn't moved a muscle when he talked.

Luke had seen his fair share of Jeff Dunham, so he knew that even the best of ventriloquist had to move something to make sound. This guy didn't. And the multitude of sounds that he made earlier weren't possible by the human voice alone, especially not just one.

"You're pretty impressive. I've never meet a mutant who could manipulate sound. So how do you do it?"

The DJ was taken back for a second, but took his time answering, contemplating every word.

"Mutant? You mean you've meet others that can do things like this? I thought I had a disease. And all I know is that when I think, the music comes out. I have to hold it back so no one hears all of it."

Nodding his head, Luke decided to introduce himself. He had figured out what Kitty, Storm, and Springload were doing here. He may as well help with his team's mission.

"I'm a mutant too. Luke Hensley. I can't do anything like you can, but I go to a school of sorts to help kids like us control ourselves. It's called the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters or something like that. I use to have the card, but I lost it. They've done a lot for me and if you want to, I'm sure they could help you out to."

"Help? How could they help? It's all just a constant battle of self-restraint with me. What could they do to fix that?"

"The owner of the School, Professor Xavier, is a telepath. If anyone can help you find control of yourself, it's him. He'll have to go through your head a little, but if it's peace you're looking for, then that's your guy. I've heard word that he's one of the strongest mutants in the world."

The DJ, who had yet to name himself, shook Luke's hand but told him "I don't need any training or therapy. I've made it fine without help so far. I'm getting better at letting it out in control. It's how I play music. That board is nothing more than a prop. The only real equipment I have is my recording stuff back home."

"You record? I bet you could make a lot of hits with as versatile as your sounds are. You could give anyone in the game a run for their money."

A scoff was met at this. "Not likely. No one will hire or sign a guy that's mute. I can't use my vocal cords because of a birth complication, but now I can make it sound like my own voice when I move my mouth. It took a while to practice, but I've mostly got it covered."

And he did. Until he pointed it out, it looked as if the DJ was genuinely speaking.

"So what's your name? I'd hate not knowing what to address you as if you ever needed my help for anything."

"Darius Johnson. A lot of my friends and family just call me-"

"DJ. You've got to be kidding me. You're a DJ for hire, the perfect DJ by mutation, and a DJ by initials. How ironic. Did you ever want to be anything asides a DJ?"

"Nope."

"Then it's official. You were born to be a DJ. The best one I've ever heard."

"Uh, thanks I guess. But I got to get back out to the party. The crowd will riot without any music to keep them in line."

With that, the newly learned of mutant stepped back outside. Luke proceeded to do his own business, but he made sure to actually lock the door. After washing his hands and splashing himself with some water to cool off, he dried and went back out to the party. But something felt off. There was no loud noise coming from a crowd. There was no vibration on the floor from dancing. There wasn't any music playing either.

His gut settling heavy, Luke ventured out into the main area and found that the crowd was all gathered around in a circle over a person lying on the ground. Making his way through with a couple of sharp elbows and apologies, he found someone he wouldn't have thought to be passed out at a party.

"Storm?"

Kitty was already kneeling beside her, trying to coax her into regaining consciousness, but the woman was completely out. Already there were whispers flying about the woman's health and welfare. Kitty was in near tears trying to awake the woman, until she felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

"What happened here, Kitty? Take a deep breath and explain slowly."

The girl took a moment to catch her breathe, and as slowly as she could with all of her hormones all over the place, she explained "Me and Storm were just out here looking for you. It's tie for us to go home, or that's what she said. I was still dancing a little and Storm was out here with me and all of a sudden she just collapses. No one around her saw anything and she won't wake up. What are we gonna do?"

Luke eased on arm underneath his teacher's back and lugged her upright and carried her firemen style.

"Where did you two park?"

Kitty led the way as the crowd parted and began shuffling off to their own vehicles, the party mood ruined. The X-van had been parked towards the end of the drive, but Ororo was surprisingly light and easy to carry, and it was only easier when Luke lightened her body weight with his powers. He'd have to add those back later so it didn't throw off her coordination. Setting her down in the backseat and buckling her in as best he could, he dug through her pockets but didn't find what he was looking for.

"Do you know where she put her keys at?"

Kitty shook her head no, but her eyes brightened up and she dug into her own little purse, pulling out a jangling set of keys.

"She gave them to me since she didn't think she would keep up with them in the party."

"Alright good. Now I need you to call the Professor and tell him what happened. Tell him to prep the med bay for a neck injury and that he may want to scan it or something."

"Why tell him that? And how is she gonna get from here to the mansion?"

"Terrence was here, so this is probably his handy work. And you're gonna have to drive her. I'm not legally allowed to drive anyone asides myself, thanks to my special license. So it's up to you. You've got the 21 and older restriction taken off, haven't you?"

A nod of her head caused Luke to grin. Turning away from her, he tossed over his shoulder "Keep it under 60 in the curves!"

Dropping his grin, he headed back inside to see if the culprit was still prowling around. He was. He was still leaned up in the same spot by the punch bowl. The room had been deserted by now, with all the party goers heading home and the resident party host was outside cleaning the place up. DJ was folding up his equipment into a rectangular shaped case and getting ready to leave. Before Terrence could go after his second target, Luke walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, shoveling on weight as fast as he could.

"Why did you knock Storm out? What purpose did that serve to you or Mystique?"

Terrence hardly seemed effected by the weight at all and simply shrugged and with his ever-present friendly tone, he replied "It cleared out the party, didn't it? It was her or Kitty. And I'd imagine that it would be pretty hard to hit a girl that can turn intangible. But I've heard a thing or two about how you did. Punched her right in the face and gave her a bloody nose."

"Shut up. You didn't knock Storm out just to clear out the room. You did it to make a point to the rest of the X-men. And now you're gonna try to mess with DJ. Good luck with that. He definitely had higher standards than being some over-the-hill principal's lackey like you Brotherhood rejects."

"You seem to misunderstand, Luke. DJ was not my second target. My second target was you. I was supposed to keep you tied up here until the Brotherhood had accomplished goals elsewhere freely. Mystique has deemed you to be quite a thorn in our side, with or without your little team. And now that they are done, I'll call it a night. DJ will be another pawn in Mystique's hand by morning."

Luke let go of his rival's shoulder and turned away, following the departing DJ back to his car. The smug look on Terrence's face had Luke worried about the musical mutant's health and wellbeing. Making his presence obvious, Luke made sure he had the teen's attention before talking.

"Since this party was dampened and cut off early, I didn't get a chance to really see you perform. We should exchange numbers so you can let me know whenever you DJ again. You were really good tonight and we have pretty similar taste in music."

Maybe that wasn't coming across wrong. He didn't want to panic the guy or worry him to death. It would be a turn off from the school if it seemed as if Luke was stalking him. But the teen merely grunted and dug out his phone and they swapped numbers. After that, the two parted, with Luke heading to his motorcycle and DJ heading home in his car.

The trip home wasn't supposed to be a long one, but a sudden hankering for a milkshake caused Luke to forsake the quick way home in favor of hitting the town. It also gave him time to try out his newest illegal addition to his bike. Most motorcycles don't have a radio, let alone a CD player, but Donnie had fixed him up good. None of that was illegal thought. The hidden compartments that were installed to shuffle the CD's around were legal too. But the built in headphones that Luke could listen to while driving wasn't. The chip probably would be questioned too. It was a minor thing, but it made all the difference to Luke.

Arriving at Sonic and placing his order, Luke felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Fishing it out, he saw it was DJ.

'_Already? Did something happen to him?'_

When he answered, he could tell right away that something _had_ happened and that DJ hadn't meant to call Luke. The sound of his voice was off, as if barely holding onto signal strength on a weak radio. It altered and shifted, changing from an infinite arsenal of other voices mingling in and out. It was unnerving.

"Hello? DJ? What's up man? Did something happen?"

"Uh yeah, man. I meant to call the police but I hit your number cause it was the first thing that popped up. It was an accident man, sorry."

"What happened? Anything I can help with?"

"Nah man, my house got broken into. Nothing you can do about it. Don't worry about it."

"Don't write me off so quickly. I may be able to help you out after all. What all got taken?" Luke already had a feeling that the Brotherhood was somehow involved. Who knew what those idiots had done?

"My recording studio down in the basement was all that got trashed. Someone knew I had it down there and messed it all up. The place is ruined. I'm gonna have to replace everything."

"Is there anything there that isn't supposed to be? Anything off about the room? A bad smell, cracks in the walls and ceiling, stains?"

A silence was heard over the phone, but then DJ answered back "Yeah there are these weird rocks scattered around coming out of the floor. Most of them are tiny, but some of them are pretty big. You don't think it was another one of us, do you? But why? They didn't take anything asides my recording stuff. They broke everything else and left it here."

Luke had already backed out of his park, wheeling out of the parking lot and leaving tire tracks.

"Listen, DJ, whatever you do, do not call the police until I say so. I think I know who took your recording equipment. Gimme a couple of hours and I should have it back. If not, then call the cops and I'll apologize for wasting your time."

DJ agreed after a second and hung up, leaving Luke silence to focus on getting where he was going, without his much wanted milkshake. Chocolate would've been so good right now.

Cruising through Bayville was a lot easier than Luke thought it would be. It must've been the lack of traffic that Luke was used to dealing with. It made getting around nicer. No one would flip him off or shake their fist at him whenever he swerved through lanes and tight spots. So after 30 minutes or so off driving around near aimlessly, Luke found his way to a two story home hidden off in the burbs. It was a light colored house in good condition, obviously well kept if Luke could notice it in the middle of the night. Parking his motorcycle across the street and walking quietly across the sleepy neighborhood, Luke began checking over his shoulders to see if anyone was watching. No lights were on in any nearby houses, no TV's were heard, nothing to indicate that anyone was awake.

'_This neighborhood sucks! Who would want to live in a neighborhood where nobody stays up past eleven o'clock? It's so boring!'_

This did make things easier for Luke, however. There was nobody to sneak around hide from. Making his way over the fence surrounding his target house in a single boosted jump, Luke checked his surroundings yet again. He was still in the clear. There wasn't a dog in the yard or anything like that, thankfully. Dogs always made things impossible.

Glancing inside a window, Luke saw what looked like a nice living room. Empty. The next room was the kitchen. Deserted as well. Making his way behind the house, Luke checked on last room. Looked like a laundry room. What the hell was that hanging up in there?

Turning away quickly and fighting the blood burning his face up, Luke looked up at the second story. That was more than likely were he needed to look. But how to get up there? Jumping up there would surely wake the occupants of the house up, unless they were particularly heavy sleepers. Luke glanced around, hoping to see something he could climb up, and then remembered something. He could just climb the wall!

Placing his hand on the brick and mortar, Luke began pulling on it with his powers, just enough to support himself on and not enough to disrupt the wall. Making sure his grip was firm, Luke pulled himself up and grabbed the wall with his other hand, pulling on it. Letting his other grip go loose, he began to scale the wall in his old fashioned way. This was much less trying on his muscles than jumping and how he originally snuck into buildings before he learned how to boost his jumps.

Getting to the proper height, Luke began checking out the windows on this floor. The first one was a bedroom, presumably the master bedroom judging by the size, occupied by a sleeping man, who looked to be in his forties and was snoring loudly. The next one was a bathroom that was empty of life. And the third window showed him what he was looking for.

Opening the window was easy. The lock on the other side of the frame followed along with the simple crook of the sneaky teen's finger. Sliding it up was more troublesome, mostly because of the sound, but it didn't wake any of the house's residents. Once inside, he closed the window and examined his point of entry. The room was painted a light green, littered with all sorts of books, DVD cases and clothes on every available dresser space. A standing mirror filled the corner along with a computer and desk tucked away to one side of the room. A swivel chair sat in front of the desk and Luke took his place in the comfy seat. The bed took up the majority of the room, with a small lamp stand on its far side. The bed's user was still oblivious to this all, cuddled up inside the all of the blankets.

Tapping his finger on the swivel chair's arm, Luke thanked Jefferson in his mind and began letting out small pushes that slowly woke the teenage girl from her slumber. At first, she blearily opened her eyes and rolled over. But reality caught up with her and she snapped up, ready to scream only to find her jaw unmoving.

"Calm down, calm down. Quit panicking, it's only me. Breathe in and out slowly."

Letting her jaw go from his invisible grip after a few seconds for her to relax, he was instantly greeted with a harsh whisper of "What the hell do you think you're doing here! It's practically midnight and here you are breaking into my room! What the hell is wrong with you? Couldn't you have called or whatever at a decent hour?"

"It's important. And you didn't answer when I threw pebbles at your window, oh fair maiden. No wait, I'm sure Juliet didn't complain when Romeo risked his life to come see her."

"Juliet loved Romeo."

"Now that's harsh. And here I thought we were moving past friends pretty quickly."

"You wish. No get out of my room before I scream and wake the whole neighborhood up."

"You won't."

"And why is that?"

"You don't have your watch on."

She glared at him after that, trying to burn holes through him with her vision. Sadly, her mutation didn't allow that. Her ultimatum had collapsed before it had even really been given room to grow and she was left without any real bargaining tool.

"What do you want? I'm tired and stressed, so I really need to go back to sleep."

He ignored her question for a moment to comment on one extremely important detail. "Nice nightgown. I didn't think people still wore those anymore. But I want to know why you set Terrence up as my date for the party. You would've done a much better job of keeping me entertained and distracted than he would've."

Pulling her covers over herself better, she shot back as sternly as she could with a whisper "Quit staring you perv! Didn't you learn the first day at school? And this is why Mystique sent him instead of me. I'm sitting here talking to you instead of trying to kill you dead as a doornail. Mystique doesn't want me to have anything to do with you if I can't use it for the Brotherhood's gain. She chewed me out forever for not going in with you at the mansion the other day."

"That must suck. At least you aren't grounded, whatever that's supposed to be. Xavier has me doing double sessions in the DR until I can think more team oriented and put the mansion first or something like that."

"Your team trains? The only person who does that with us is Terrence. He goes to some stupid gym every afternoon for a couple of hours. I go over to the shack to practice myself and to give Rouge some company. She's a real oddball."

"She's a freak. She's more than one person upstairs, you know. You know what she does with her powers. Having all those people trapped in her head is gonna make her crazier than Mystique one of these days and I don't want to even think about what could happen if she does."

"I suppose you precious Professor could fix that?" If she could've been any snider then Luke would've hit her upside the head.

"I'd bet on it. But I'm here for DJ's stuff back, the recording equipment. He's gonna be pretty pissed if I don't get it back to him in an hour or so. And then the cops will get involved. Nobody wants the cops involved, right?" His purpose was clear now, and she would cave in immediately and Luke could settle this problem for the night and go home to a comfy bed and sleep. Right?

"Who's DJ? And what recording equipment? I spent the afternoon growing crystals for Mystique. She said something about wanting to sell them. Then she and the boys all went out to do something. I didn't ask because I didn't want to go or get involved. So you think they stole something from this DJ guy? Who is he?"

Perplexed, Luke began throwing the puzzle pieces around in his head and cryptically replied "A mutant and my new favorite DJ."

'_She's either lying to me or this whole thing stinks of a mastermind pulling the strings. If I assume she isn't lying, then that means Mystique planted the crystals in DJ's room after she got his stuff. But why? Why would she leave evidence that could be linked back to Crystal? I'm the only one outside of the Brotherhood who could identify Crystal's powers, so she left them for bait to lead me here. It was only by chance that DJ called me and told me, so there is no way she could know that _**I**___know. So this is a set-up and I'm screwed, or Crystal's lying. Either way I need to leave. I can't get a location on DJ's stuff from her anyways.'_

Standing up, Luke began wondering what he could do or where to go. "If you had to guess, where would Mystique put the equipment at? Not in her room again if I broke in the last time. So where does that leave?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself?"

If only the window wouldn't have been closed, Luke could've got away clean. Or at least, he hoped he could've. Turning around after recovering from his startled jump that he was pretending never happened, Luke was met by the blue-skinned form of Mystique.

"You replaced DJ while I took Storm to the car, didn't you? That explains everything now. How did I miss that?"

"The fact that you're clever enough to deduce what you have is impressive. I doubt that anyone your age would've come close to figuring this out. My team could never have put this together. It's a shame that the head on your shoulders and the power hidden in your body is wasting away behind those mansion walls? What's Charles got you doing today? Cleaning pots and pans? Amanda's offer to you still holds, you know. It would be a nice change for once to have someone around me who isn't incompetent, as your 'teachers' at the Institute would have you think. Your mind is the most astounding thing about you, if I say so myself. Asides your tremendous powers, of course."

A small part of Luke, buried deep in his repressed consciousness called out for him to stop thinking of ways to escape and resist and just give. The shape shifter had a manner of speaking that feed that part of him, making him ache with the desire to just collapse and quit. To do the easy thing and stop following all the rules. She was gifted with the tongue, he could give her that. But he knew he couldn't work for her. He wasn't a pawn under Xavier, and he had no desire to be one under her.

"So you left behind a trail for me to follow and I did so perfectly. Now what? Are you gonna try to persuade me not to go find DJ or his stuff? Do you think you can stop me?"

Bluffing had never been one of Luke's strong points, but he was stalling for time in the first place. He just needed the perfect excuse to wave his arm around a little and he would be gone. A single motion would have Mystique knocked back, giving him time for the second and third motion. The second to open the window and the third jumping out of said window, preferably commando style. Even in bad situations he had to look cool for the girls (or in this case, girl).

Her gaze firmed and she began to watch him more closely, inspecting every move and motion he made. She wasn't underestimating his abilities. This was both a good and a bad thing. Good because she obviously had belief in his abilities that he _could_ pull it off. Bad because she was expecting it. Crystal had stayed quiet the entire time, hiding behind her covers as best she could. He didn't blame her. She was the perfect bait and had played her part unknowingly. She probably felt terrible about it too.

"You're too cocky right now for my taste. I believe we can beat that out of you and you'll warm up to things much quicker. Unless you want to just give in now?"

"Who's 'we'? Unless you brought the whole crew of idiots you have, then I'm still walking out of here."

Again, Luke was stalling. He was trying to get her to reveal the underlings' location so they couldn't surprise them. The fact that he knew of their presence was her slip of the tongue, a big mistake. She would regret giving that info up.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten about her? Amanda's been here longer than I have and she's been doing such a good job too. The entire time you've been talking, she's been encasing your feet and legs in crystal so firm that you could never break it. You've already lost here Luke. So say good night."

Luke's head instinctively whipped down to see that his legs, in fact, were indeed covered in crystals. Amanda had a grim expression on her face when he caught her eye, but the sparkle in them cried out '_I'm sorry!' Luke wanted to forgive her, but then darkness overcame him._

_AN: Ok, so things are still hanging off of the Grand Canyon Cliffside. The stakes have been raised and the questions are on the table. Who's gonna go home with the new mutant who's been kidnapped? What the hell is going on with Luke and Amanda's relationship? And will Luke ever get that Chocolate milkshake from Sonic? I might get around to answering at least one of those questions next chapter. And for those of you who worry about the Ocs' and their sizeable role in the story, don't worry. I'm thinkin' that rosters are going to be filled for both teams soon enough. But when you have so many characters like I do, it's an unending argument as to which ones would fit better where._

_As for my personal life, thank you for asking, I'm doing fine. I'm still dealing with a few things here and there, mostly on and off things in English. I've also made a number of startling discoveries about myself. 1. I talk to myself more that any other person. 2. I talk to my dog more than anyone else in my house of 5. 3. I haven't gone anywhere on the weekends with friends or had time off to screw around since before Christmas. No lie. It's amazing I'm not anti-social at this point. But for those of you who care and haven't skipped this part of the others note (You probably should've) I appreciate your sympathy. Leave a review telling me how sucky your life is too._

_My beta hasn't proofread this chapter yet, so if there are any errors, then it's still his fault, not mine. Chapter Title is an Eminem ft. D12 song from the Eminem Show. Character props go to my iPod stereo for inspiring DJ. And I want to thank HMMaster, who's stories have kept me focused on this story instead of other things, like L4D2. Thanks and R&R. Big Willis out._


	8. Encore

AN: This chapter is brought to you by something man has fought against since they first twiddled their thumbs. Since the times of drawing pictures with rocks on cave walls. Yes, my friends. This chapter is brought to you by none other than…Boredom. I'm sick right now (threw up twice over nothing), I'm tired of Xbox Live, and my newest addiction is keeping me up at night killing all the juice in my PS3 controllers that have lost the ability to charge. So I'm taking a break to mellow out. Thus, this chapter was started. Just wait till you see the author's note at the bottom…Disclaimer: I have no hold over Marvel and its property. I think I've made that clear. But if I did…

Chapter 8

Encore

A stiff neck. That's what he woke up to. Then he felt weight on his back, his arms, actually, his whole body. He couldn't move. Blinking away the blurry vision, he tries to strain his neck to get a better look around. He couldn't. He couldn't move at all, except to blink and breathe. His jaw was held shut by something he couldn't see.

The concrete walls in front of him were bare and white. No details or furniture were placed along that side of the room. It was bland and devoid of anything.

What was going on? Where was he? Why was he-

A door opened, informing the immobile man that there was indeed a way out. It also told him that someone else was in the room. Footsteps were heard on the floor, heading in his general direction. Slowly. The steps came from behind him at first, but then they slowly came to his left side, then in front of him.

"You're awake. Good. I've decided to keep you here for a while longer to observe you. You are not my main intention, but you may become useful to me in the future."

The woman in front of him was a stranger, unrecognized at all by the bound man. She was a business woman, her aura she projected screamed professionalism. Her apparel of a woman's doctor's scrubs further accentuated the aura, but he doubted she needed the clothes to be so serious. He wondered to himself what kind of music she listened to.

"Your talents offer you and me the unique opportunity to monopolize an entire market, so long as you are willing to co-operate. I know all about you, with your dreams and goals. They are of no interest to me. But your powers could make someone a lot of money, if used properly. I plan on being that person. So for now, I'll leave you here in isolation to give you time to…soften up to my proposal. Until next time."

The woman backed out of his sight of view, her footsteps disappearing altogether when the door shut behind her. At her absence, the man began to struggle against whatever it was that was holding him completely still. Nothing changed or gave way. Then he began to resorting to something he normally held himself back from. He began humming, letting it build up in his body as melodies and music began to mingle and intertwine within each other. It began to pour out of him, exiting his being until it hit resistance. It was thick, solid, and with no cracks or opening. He was being held by something entirely in one piece. Not straps or rope, but like a metal coffin. He had no idea how close he was to being right.

Time to test out how solid it really was. What people didn't often understand about sound is that while it was vibrations moving extremely fast, it was generated by something else. Motion. What else was generated by motion? Heat. If one were able to see it, then they would watch as the captured man began to heat the molecules around him, inside whatever it was that held him, until they began to move. It began to vibrate along with his entire being in a faint humming that sounded like an electric current, as sweat clung to his skin, unable to fall off properly inside his prison. The vibration increased with the heat being expelled off his body. He was beginning to feel the effects of using his powers in such a way.

It was tiring and draining his bodily fluids much faster than he would've thought. But he began to feel cracks opening up in his prison. He knew the molecules inside were heating up so much that they were breaking their bonds and flying about, knocking other molecules out of place. On a larger scale, he felt chips breaking off and falling to the tiled ground and shattering like tinkling glass. Larger and larger pieces began falling off, each piece shattering and making the mutant remember just how tired he was. The shattering glass made him feel like falling over and shattering himself.

Minutes crawled by as he slowly gained mobility and freed himself from what he know saw to be a pink hued glass in the floor at his feet. Picking his feet up out of the heavy shards and onto safer ground, he reached down to brush the shards and dust off of his shoes. One shard stabbed into his skin, sticking out like a splinter. Plucking it out and sucking at the mildly bleeding spot, he examined the offending glass. That wasn't really glass. Looking inside it, the man found that the light was refracting too much to be a regular glass. This was thicker, too. He decided on the term crystal for it and threw the shard away. It was useless to him anyways.

Stretching and easing his aching body while wringing out his sweat-soaked clothes, the man turned and examined the room, which was just as plain as the wall he watched in his crystal case. The door had no handle on his side, but there was an indention where it would be. More than enough for DJ to identify where he should channel his music next. He cupped his hands over the spot, ensuring that the vibrations would be enclosed as much as possible. Again, he began to vibrate music as it poured out of his hands, vibrating the metal gears inside the door. His hands began to sweat and tire the young man, but he stuck with the process until the door loosened up and swung inwards.

The hallway it revealed was just as descriptive as the room he was leaving. Cursing the interior designer for giving him no clues on where to go or how to get out, DJ started walking right, clinging to the wall as if it would stop someone from seeing him. What was he supposed to do? He'd never been kidnapped before or been in a situation like this. He just knew that he had to go home.

What had happened at that party? He remembered going to the bathroom, some scrawny white kid catching him humming, and then getting offered to a school for mutants like him. He left the bathroom, finished his set and someone walked up to him. Then he couldn't remember anymore. Why would they take him in the first place? He wasn't absurdly powerful. He could generate sounds at any frequency or pitch and imitate anything he'd ever heard. It wasn't like he could pick up a bus or open wormholes to space. The lady said something about making money off of him. She probably wanted to hook him up to a recorder and let him turn loose. It wouldn't work.

DJ wanted to be a professional DJ himself, making music for people with the talent to make out of it. He didn't particularly care for genre, but he knew it would be easier to produce for hip-hop or pop singers than for other genre. But all of that wouldn't happen unless he got signed, which couldn't happen because nobody would hire someone born mute. And unless he revealed his mutation and give away his secret, then he could never show them his real music.

He had tried recording himself with what little equipment he could afford to buy and it had failed. The recordings were either terribly mangled or simply unable to record the sounds. He had wanted to get his music run through frequency scanners that would tell him how high or low he would have to set the recordings to pick up his sounds. Everything he had tried so far didn't work. Proper recording studio machinery, though…It was his goal in life to buy his own.

Brushing his unsuccessful attempts at recording back into the recesses of his mind, DJ focused back on getting out of wherever he was.

-Elsewhere at another Time-

Another figure was stirring from inside his crystal tomb. Slowly waking up, the teen tensed up at his state of complete immobility, running rain check on his physical being, before slumping back down as if he was asleep. It would be better if no one knew he was awake. It would give him time to use his other senses and gather information.

Silence. There were no sounds to be heard asides his own breathing and heartbeats that seemed to echo and resonate inside the material holding him. The room smelled of cleaning products and disinfectants, reminding him of hospital clinics and clean rooms. He was hot, already mildly sweating and unable to wipe it away. The water soaked into his clothes or skin, unable to fall off of his frame. Finally opening his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of a black window in front of him. The glass was either incredibly thick or extremely tinted. Maybe both. He fixed it with a glare. Someone was behind it watching him.

He noticed a camera sitting in the corner of the room, set up to watch him directly. It stuck out in the plain white room that he could see. He imagined what was behind him was the same plain decal. A door opened behind him, the hinges screeching in an intended effect to make him nervous. Footsteps, the kind that go with high-heeled shoes, _clacked_ on the tile floor. It was a sound he hated hearing. Women were always the most annoying people to ever try to kill him. Guys simply tried to make things quick and simple. Women stretched things out and tried to play the revenge card. But sadly, they hadn't figured out that giving him time was a dangerous weapon against them.

The steps made their way completely behind him, before heard the faint rustling of sleeves and heard the sound of something metallic tap against something hard. Then, with an agonizing slowness, the metal object was dragged around his prison, letting out its horrible screech against the abuse. The steps followed behind and slowly the figure of a woman dressed as a doctor stopped in front of him. Before he could look over her features and add her to his list of bodies to leave behind, he noticed the object that protested so much against its earlier abuse. A scalpel. And despite its rough treatment, it still looked plenty sharp.

"I'm sure there is no need for introductions between us, Luke. I doubt someone of your nature would allow yourself to forget me so quickly."

It was her. The woman who had hired him for that botchy job. The woman who had put a hit on his head. The woman, who right now was making her worst mistake, was waving a sharp object dangerously close to his face.

"I remember. I missed you. Sending a hit man isn't quite the same as seeing you face to face. Now that you're here, we can catch up on how insane you've been since last time."

She smiled at this, pressing the scalpel ever so gently against his jaw line, reveling in the twitch she got out of him.

"Trust me. I've been plenty."

Pulling back, she noticed the sharp exhale that Luke gave, and while it gave her great satisfaction that she got such a reaction of him with a knife, she noticed just how close it was to her own throat. Much closer than her hand would've ever brought it on its own accord. Pushing back any emotions that wanted to surge forward, the doctor simply placed the scalpel inside a latched container carried inside one of her deep white coat pockets.

"There was no need for that Luke. We're all friends here. You and I are going to work together again after our last debacle and finish the job you started. I need more blood."

A snicker was drawn out from the imprisoned mutant. "I'd love to go fetch it for you, but as you've probably noticed, I'm a little tied up here. So unless you want to remedy this little situation, I can't really help."

A laugh rose out of her, sounding much more sinister than he would've given her credit for.

"You seem to misunderstand my orders yet again, Luke. I don't need you to go get any blood. I just want you to give me yours!"

'_She's crazy as hell. How did I not notice it when I first saw her? That glint in her eyes. It's always been there, hasn't it?'_

She looked the same as when he had first met her, if a little less done-up, so to speak. Less make-up, a more noticeable bagging around the eyes from sleep deprivation, and her incredibly pristine lab coat. Which he was gonna ruin. Digging a little deeper down and flexing his gag reflexes as far as he could, the teen hacked up as much coppery blood as he could before spitting. The large glob of spit and blood sailed perfectly through the air, landing nicely to the left of her front chest pockets.

Instantly, the blood stained. For a moment, Luke was disappointed at how little she reacted. He watched carefully for any tell she had, a fist clenching, jaw muscles tightening, an eyebrow twitch. Anything to know he was getting to her. Nothing. So it left him a little surprised when she smacked his face. Whatever was encasing him didn't give way, but the hit left him rattled.

It was an awkward hit, for sure. She couldn't catch the fullness of his face do to so much being encased, but what she did make contact with was quickly turning red and swelling.

"You hit like a man. It makes me question just what all you're hiding from me, Doc. As a patient, I'm pretty sure I have the right to pick my own doctor. I refuse to be treated by a man."

"It matters? I figured most cocky punks like you would prefer a male doctor because you think women belong at home cooking or cleaning."

"It matters because I want proof you're a woman and not something in between. And the only way you could prove it would be enough to set my soul at rest before I die. Unless, of course, you've been stuffing."

She hit him again, this time using her actual fist instead of an open hand. Again, he could feel the swelling already.

"When are you gonna move past physical violence? I thought it was part of the doctor's oath when they're sworn in or whatever to never intentionally cause harm to a patient?"

"It is. But there are two reasons I'm not upheld to that. One, I've never been 'sworn in'. Two, I did that as a perfectly valid test to see if your mutation allows you to still feel pain. Your reaction to each hit would indicate that you have developed a higher pain tolerance than most, but nothing to the extremity as some mutants."

"My pain tolerance can easily be explained by the fact that a lot of bad things have happened to me. There's also the fact that I can hardly move thanks to this crystal you've got me buried in. But enough about me. I gotta ask. How the hell did you get someone like Mystique to do your dirty work for you and capture me? No matter how much you're paying, she would rather have me on her side or get rid of me herself than hand me over."

This was important. The Brotherhood's involvement in this was the biggest factor in how likely he was to escape. If they were still around, then he was screwed. If they were gone, then he might have a chance. He would've already have been out of here if she hadn't been surprisingly strong. Her strength had kept that knife out of her windpipe, but next time, he wouldn't hold back. Hell, why was he waiting now? He could simply collapse her throat with a heart-powered push in the proper area.

"Your friends agreed to bring you in as long as they could to oversee the tests I do. And Mystique's boss is the one who wants the money, not her. So apparently she isn't in charge as she would lead people to believe."

"How do you know her in the first place?"

His mysterious doctor, former employer, and current captor simply smiled, as she began to move out of his field of vision. She went to his left, taking several paces until she stopped maybe 15 feet away. The rustling heard later sounded as if a drawer was being opened and the sound of hollow plastic contacting each other filled the room. As the drawer closed and she began to make her way back in front of him, she began answering his question.

"It was you who introduced us. When you stole that blood for me, she was there that same night trying to get it as well. When you stole it before she did, she must've followed it back with you, then to the meeting point. As a shape shifter, I'm sure you were well unaware and I don't blame you for it. But once our transaction was completed, she confronted me in the alleyway and demanded the blood. I refused and she shape-shifted into something terrifying. But luckily, I escaped with a little luck and a stun gun. She pursued me later and took what blood was left after I had started testing it. As for what she did with it, I'm uncertain. But the blood I had was invaluable for my research. A donation from you would benefit me even further."

She was back in front of him, and had somehow cleaned off the blood stain or replaced her coat. From out of her pocket she pulled a syringe, which from Luke's point of view, looked larger and more painful than what he thought was necessary. He wasn't scared of needles by any means, but that was one big needle.

"What a shame. My charity bank is all run out. You'll have to wait until someone else has made a deposit to me before I can give one to you. So maybe if you gave me my freedom back with your charity, I could give you a little blood."

"Let's skip the foreplay, Luke. I'm not taking your blood now, anyways. We can wait for a while on that front. This is just another thing I want to test on an actual patient. It's not everyday I can inject a volunteer with such a wide variety of drugs that I've been provided with and record the effects it has on you and your powers."

The statement led to further examination of the syringe, which indeed had some type of drug flowing inside of it, waiting to be injected. A touch of nervousness began to build in Luke. As a kid who raised himself for nearly half a decade and had a little money to waste, drugs had always been an option. But never one that appealed to him. He'd seen enough of that with his mom. Now he was being held against his will away from anyone and everyone who would want to help him to be injected by a random drug to see how it affected his powers.

The doctor took her time to build upon the fear when she leaned in, her hand lowly leading the needle to its mark. It was an exposed area underneath his chin. A patch of crystal had either been removed or simply never grown over his neck, which was now exposed to the syringe and a madwoman. A gasp escaped the teen's lips against his will, making him close his eyes in shame as the cold metal hit skin. A moment was given in pause and he knew it was merely to give his captor the time to dwell in pleasure from eliciting such a response. He opened his eyes in a glare and caught her eyes, a startling dark blue. They were very pretty, but the soul behind it was enough to avert Luke's gaze. At her second victory, she slipped the needle past his skin and into his bloodstream and began to inject liquid fire into his veins.

Biting his lip as he struggled vainly against the rock imprisoning him, the teen was stuck in what felt like cement while the drug began to course through his body.

"For the next few hours, your nerves should be firing at a much faster rate. That is why you feel so much pain from the slight pinch of the syringe. Give it a moment and you'll be making snide one-shots at me all over again."

Luke hardly heard her, concentrating on dulling the newfound pain as much as he could without being able to at least sooth the skin. It may have been instinct, but it still hurt that he couldn't curl up in the fetal position and ignore the world. His breathes began to become more of a struggle as he tried to steady his bodily rates again.

The woman had already left from in front of him, leaving the room entirely and into the conjoined room that had the glass window. Her voice was broadcast through an intercom system, telling him "I'll be observing you in here so you'll have some privacy to yourself. Enjoy it while it lasts."

A glare was sent at the incredibly thick glass, though the occupant on the other side was unfazed. But when a small crack appeared on the glass, the doctor behind the glass nearly fell out of her chair. That glass was four inches thick and was nigh unbreakable. For this mutant to be able to break it while still imprisoned and unable to properly move made an astounding statement of his powers. Maybe Mystique was misguided in believing that Luke Hensley needed to move at all to use his powers?

On the other side of the glass, a set of closed eyes, partially open mouth, and a small trail of blood leaking from said open mouth spoke on just how enhanced Luke's nerves were. Near-instantly he was unconscious from the pain in his chest. This too was observed by the scientist behind the glass. She merely took notes and smiled at her unconscious prey.

At the X-mansion

"Like, where is he professor? He was supposed to be back last night and it's been all day! Did he, like, get lost or something?"

Charles Xavier rubbed his temples, trying to ease the mild headache he had from using Cerebro for so long. He had been inside for over an hour, scanning for one mutant teen in particular to little avail. He simply wasn't presenting a strong presence. It was odd, though, that Cerebro was having so much trouble finding someone that was already in its records. It had found him somewhere in upper New York, but Luke Hensley wasn't entirely on the map. Telepathically, he was out of reach too. He was either unconscious or somehow being blocked off. He doubted the later as very few people knew how to block telepaths and it was very unlikely that Luke had stumbled into a place where someone did.

Kitty had been standing right outside of the Cerebro chamber waiting on the Professor to emerge. She was tempted to go into the chamber herself, but the man had warned her against it. A stray thought from him magnified by Cerebro could kill her, or leave her in a vegetative state.

"I'm still not sure, Kitty. Cerebro shows him somewhere in upper New York, but he's unreachable by Cerebro. He still hasn't answered his cell phone, I presume?"

She shook her head, her hand instinctively raising her hand up to her mouth as she anxiously spoke "What if something bad happened last night, Professor? Why else wouldn't he answer his phone? That scary strong guy from the Brotherhood was at the party last night. What if he kidnapped Luke or something?"

Charles gave himself a second to breathe before answering. Kitty had been wearing down on him as soon as she learned Luke had never come home last night. Xavier himself had discussed it with Wolverine and a recovered Storm and they had reached their own conclusions on the subject. It was surprising to him just how concerned the girl was with Luke. Maybe it was the closeness in age or the reassurance he had given her last night to go home herself.

"Kitty, I checked over Cerebro's recordings and Luke only used his powers mildly last night. I highly doubt that he was kidnapped by Terrence or there would've been a much bigger use of them."

"What if he was caught off guard, Professor? That guy knocked Storm out without anyone even knowing except Luke! We've got to do something!"

Sighing and rubbing his temples at the much stronger headache forming, the man in the wheelchair decided to fully explain to his youngest student.

"Kitty, has it crossed your mind that maybe Luke is simply moving on from here? That he's simply ready to find his next job and go back to working as a mutant for hire? I've already discussed this with Ororo and Logan and they both seem to agree with me that Luke has simply decided that he's gained what he could from us. Luke has never attached himself to us or our way of doing things. As a matter of fact, his entire reason for being at the party was to disobey the punishment we had given him. I think you should just accept the fact that he's gone."

The explanation hit hard, causing the girl to take a step back in doubt. The man took the time to continue back down the hall towards the elevator to take him back up. The girl ran after him and caught up with him just as the door opened. If the man in the wheelchair was honest with himself, he would admit he just wanted Kitty to drop it. But her persistence was arguably her best and worst quality. As the elevator doors closed, she began to tell her counter-argument.

"He never packed or said goodbye. He wouldn't leave all that stuff here with us and he wouldn't leave without telling us."

"Kitty, do you remember when I left to go see Luke in Virginia? I went to see him that morning and by that afternoon he had agreed to come. He didn't ask his parents, tell his friends, or anybody. Luke doesn't seem the type to connect with just anyone and I don't think he has here at the mansion either."

Xavier had left out a few bits and pieces in his explanation. Luke didn't live with his parents or any other kind of family. He didn't have a genuine friend, the closest thing being his teacher that he tormented on a daily basis. He didn't tell a single person asides his teacher that he was leaving, letting the Professor do all of the paperwork and signing when it came to changing schools.

"No way. He's been friendly to all of us here. I mean sure, he has problems with Scott and Logan, but he always laughs at Kurt's jokes and hangs out with us after Danger Room sessions."

"Kitty, he has been friendly, I'm sure. But has he been a friend?"

The doors opened up and the man rolled onward, leaving the girl struggling with the conflicting thoughts in her head. After a moment, she headed out of the elevator with a look of determination on her face.

Unknown Location

DJ had been running a while, taking lefts and rights along the way through the labyrinth of white hallways inside wherever he was. He was unsure of the time, as his internal clock had vanished upon regaining conscious inside the crystal. He was hungry and thirsty, but it wasn't enough to slow him down. He had to escape. Nothing else mattered.

Turning randomly down hallways that all looked identical, DJ kept his steady pace as his shoes hit the floor, the only sound heard that echoed in all the halls. '_I hate this place's interior designer!'_

Running past a room that he wasn't going to turn into, DJ skidded to a halt when he passed by when his peripheral picked something up. The door to the room was red. Unlike anything else he had seen so far, this one door had color. Testing his luck and his curiosity, he tried the door and found that it opened very easily and without a sound. Inside he found that the room was empty like all the others, except the back wall had a metal door thick enough to pass for a bank vault dead in the middle of it. It had no apparent handle and must've only opened up from the other side.

Cursing his luck, he was just about to turn and leave when he heard the sound of metal sliding and scrapping metal. Pressing himself flat against the vault door wall, he watched in amazement and fear as the metal rearranged itself and squirmed around as if it were alive and reshaped into a perfectly rectangle door that a figure walked through, cloaked in dark clothes.

The figure turned directly to DJ, who was clutching at the wall in shock and more fear, feeling like a cornered rat. Then he spoke.

"Greetings, young Darius. Or should I call you DJ? We have much to discuss."

Experimentation Lab

Behind the glass, her supposed window of safety, Dr. Penelope Gage observed the slow breathing of the teen imprisoned in rock before her. It was such a strange thing, how this had come about. Terrence had failed in his objective to kill Luke, apparently having the job wiped from his mind by some Xavier character. But after a week or so with no word and no results, the doctor had taken it upon herself to track him down.

It was hard, but she had found him under Mystique's care in her misfit operation, some so called 'Brotherhood.' From there, she simply made a couple calls and contacted the mysterious woman, who did not recognize her voice over the phone. The doctor had played things smooth and tried to win Terrence back into her own service, but the woman had made a much more promising proposition in mind. She would deliver Luke to the doctor's lab, but she would be able to stay on site and watch over the studies as well as a larger sum of money. She would also bring in a second mutant that the doctor would have free reign to study when she finished with Luke. It had seemed too good to be true and the doctor had agreed near immediately. So far, things had gone swimmingly.

Except for that one tiny crack in the glass. That little crack was annoying her every time her eyes wandered to it. The boy was on drugs and already supremely sensitive to pain, as obvious from his reaction to the shot itself. The fact that he had the will and the strength to do something he knew was going to hurt just to spite her made the woman anxious. His attempt with her scalpel earlier was close enough. It was merely his misjudgment of her physical strength that saved her life. He obviously had more strength residing in him then he cared to show. The question that made her so worried was just how much? The doctor may have been a professional and devoted to her research, but she wasn't going to lose her life over it.

Luke had yet to recover from his state of unconsciousness, nor did it look like he was going to anytime soon. From the murmurs and groans, she could tell he was still in pain while knocked out. In that state, she had already taken as much blood as she needed to run every test she had in mind. Most of it was already being run through machines and would be giving her the results in a few hours. The variations she had seen from tests so far were amazing. The gap between the normal DNA coding of a human and Luke's were beyond her expectancies, even after seeing several other similar experiments with mutant DNA. She could spend the next few years working out her thesis with the results she had.

Even with all of the massive information she had gained from Luke's blood and DNA, her key goal was to gather a sample of his muscle tissue. The location of where to take it from and how large of a sample were the key issues. She needed to know if his powers were generated in certain muscles, like his arms and chest, or how much motion did he need to use his powers. The more detail she could work out of the mutant, the better she would be able to use that sample. Taking too much also proved to be a problem, as she was unsure if he would ever grow any mutated muscle back for her to take more of.

While she was working some of these problems out hypothetically, a computer alert caught her vision. Turning to read it over, she cursed under her breathe and bit her tongue. The second mutant she would study, DJ, had broken out of his room and was on the loose. There was no telling where he had gone to or what he could do. His room had been in the center of her lab space and there were hallways going in every direction. There was also the matter of how to restrain him. If he had broken out of his glass coffin, then what did she have here to hold him? And how would she recapture him in the first place?

Mystique was the answer. She was also the only person inside the lab that the doctor didn't want to see. They had yet to run across each other in the exchanging of money and mutants. Unsure of how the shape-shifter would react when they eventually did meet, the doctor had kept her stun gun on her person at all times, tucked in an inner pocket of her jacket. Now seemed to be the time to see if it would matter. Leaving her studying area through a pass coded door, she stepped outside and found Terrence standing there, waiting for some kind of order.

"Go find Mystique and use your team to track down that mutant on the loose. Make sure you restrain him properly this time!"

Gage ducked back in the door and double checked it behind her to make sure it locked. She may have hired Terrence in the first place, but she trusted him all the less for it. Checking over her prisoner's vitals, she saw that there was no change in activity. It seemed she would still have to play the waiting game. Fine.

X-mansion Residential Floor

'_There has got to be something in his room that proves he didn't just walk out on us last night!'_

Katherine Pride has set herself in front of the currently unoccupied room of Luke Hensley, staring determinedly at it, as if she had x-ray vision for a power instead of intangibility. No one else was in the hallway with her, nor was anyone informed of her plan. If they were, they would probably try to dissuade her from going into Luke's room and personal belongings.

Glancing up and down the empty hallway, Kitty stepped forward and concentrated, letting the feeling of emptiness her powers gave her take over as she continued to step through the door. It was odd, walking through the wall but not falling through the floor. Somehow that never happened as long as she stayed focused.

The inside of the room was normal, similar to every other room on the floor. There weren't any posters pined up or pictures tacked to the wall like in her room, but there was a small stereo in the corner of the room, with wires running all over it. There was also a mini-fridge beside the bed.

"How did he get a mini-fridge in here? That is so unfair!"

Opening it, she found nothing but cans of Dr. Pepper.

"Addicted much?"

Kitty walked over to a garbage bin next to the main dresser and saw it full of empty cans. Leaving those alone, she began checking the rest of his exposed room. There were a few DVDs and books tucked away on a shelf, an empty closet and an empty suitcase.

'_He never packed up anything. He couldn't just leave this stuff.'_

Deep down though, she knew that this wouldn't be enough for the Professor or the teachers. She needed something more. So now came the moment of truth. Kitty made her way out of the closet and back to the main dresser. Was she really ready to search though this to get her hands on proof that Luke was staying?

Pulling open the top left drawer, she nearly sighed with relief when she saw only the sock drawer. She had done her unfair share of laundry around the house, mostly her own and Jean's, but enough to know just what all she could find. Digging her hands in till her nails hit the bottom wood, she searched around and scrapped across something that didn't sound like wood at all. Pushing the socks aside and digging the object out, she opened it up and looked over the front page.

Shutting it back hurriedly, she tucked the item under her arms and ran out of the room, phasing through the door in her headlong dash to Xavier's personal study.

Upper New York, Underground Labs

"Alright Fissure. You know the deal. Crack that door open for us and we'll let you see the girl again."

A group of 5 figures cloaked in the shadows of the forest around them had gathered around the oddly placed heavy metal entrance of what they knew to be a laboratory. The group was varied in size and shape, with some figures obviously younger and some older. The one who had spoken was the leader of the group, the largest of all the people gathered.

One individual split himself from the group, heading towards the large door that was completely out of place with its surroundings. He stopped directly in front of it and placed his hands out, palms flat. After a mere moment, he tucked his hands back into the sleeves of his cloak and walked back to the group. After a few steps, the door came down after him, split perfectly in two pieces.

Not a word was said as another figure walked off into the new entrance as Fissure made his way back to the group. The person, most likely male from the size and gait, was gone for but a minute as the others stood in silence. When the figure returned from the entryway and stopped in his original position, the leader questioned sharply "Where you spotted?"

"Not a chance. Two guards in the hall, lightly armed with basic ballistics vest, a side arm I didn't recognize, and a stun gun. Snipe could take them down in less than two, no alerts."

The leader seemed pleased with this report, as his eyes brightened from beneath his dark hood.

"All right men, we-" "Ahem."

The leader stopped to glare at the interrupter, the only female in the team. She glared back and the leader dropped his gaze. She was arguably the most important piece in his operations, so he appeased her with small things like this.

"Team, we've got our assignments and our targets. Let's move!"

AN: Fanfic screwed up the past 4 attempts to upload this! Meh. I despise myself for not making anything important happen in this chapter. There was simply too much that I wanted to convey while still having multiple things go on at once. This next chapter is gonna be funner for me. Yes, I said funner. I'm trying to fill in any gaps I've found that _need _filling, but most of the openness that my plot has is there for a reason. Gotta leave you guys some room to wonder and question. I set up a poll for people to vote on Luke's codename, it's on my profile so check it out if it matters to you in the slightest.

Sorry to anybody waiting on this, school can drag me down sometimes. I've learned some valuable things lately, though. I've dealt with my sickness I get around a certain someone and I am in the process of getting in that person's good graces. Maybe that means I'll settle down in front of my keyboard more because I won't be as stressed.

Chapter title came for an Eminem song off of the album Encore. Very first song I ever heard by him. Beta read over this one, so maybe he spruced up a few things unlike my last chapter. I looked over it one more time when I uploaded it and wanted to cry. Reviewers need to point out when my spelling is that off. Maybe the hurt and embarrassment will cause me to straighten up. So R&R, enjoy your day, and thanks for reading. Big Willis, out!


	9. Curtain Calls

AN: Why am I so addicted? I'm such a junkie to things I do on a regular basis. I live in habits. I check my email every other minute, play video games near daily, watch House like it's a drug for my eyes and ears, and make myself physically sick by being around someone I KNOW is gonna make me physically sick. People complain about being in ruts all their lives, but I love my rut. I wish I didn't have to take a break from my rut and put up with people. Someone threw pennies at me today, people! What is wrong with you guys? Disclaimer: If I had any rights in Marvel or its properties, I'd give everyone a better theme song. Seriously. Why can't they have one as good as the dunanananananananana Batman!

Chapter 9

Curtain Calls

The small _click_ sound she heard from the small phone pressed against her ear proved to her that the conversation had indeed ended. Pressing her head against the cool glass, she closed her eyes and gave herself a moment to reorganize her thoughts. Her head was killing her. Opening her eyes, she turned back to the room behind her, catching the eyes of every single one of her students.

Never once had she used her phone in class, nor had she ever shown a moment of any type of pain or been phased by a problem. Her students had every right to be worried about her strange actions. But the worry would be useless. None of the teenagers before her had the ability, or the potential ability, to change or affect any of the upcoming events she was seeing. Only one of her previous students had that chance. If only Xavier would do something to help him out.

If only Xavier would do something to help her out. She understood that there was nothing he could do to stop her pains, but he had provided her the only medication she had found for her problem. Her ability to see the future uses of mutant powers had been dulled down and become nearly recessive under the care of the telepath, but after a few years away, his work had come unraveled. She was beginning to see things again, her mind posting images she knew nothing about behind her eyes. And with more mutants emerging, there were more flashes than ever before.

Most of her precognitive flashes were quick, but some were reoccurring and steady. One set in particular stuck out to her. Mutants she had never foreseen before fighting, with Xavier and his students in the middle of it all. So many powers, with so many possible outcomes, all running through her head. It was driving her insane. Rebecca, or Mrs. Anderson as her students knew her, simply smiled to her class and began teaching, going over the work she had given her class before the call.

X-mansion

Charles Xavier placed his phone back in place on the receiver, starring at it for a while longer. He had heard troubling news on multiple levels from his old student. Luke, it seemed, was indeed in trouble. One of Xavier's old friends had reemerged from his isolation with a plan to set his views into motion. Another faction has appeared and seemingly has goals that conflict with both his own and the Brotherhood's. And then there was the surprising amount of advancement that had taken place in the science of studying mutations. More particularly, mutants.

Xavier had prepared since the day he had opened his school for when the world recognized the existence of mutants. But it seemed the closer he was too prepared, the more drastic the stance opposing forces took. This U-men corporation that had appeared out of the shadows it had created was threatening indeed. He had gleamed of how they were using what information they found, legally or not, for research that was as largely inaccurate as it was correct. So for things to have come so far without his knowing made Xavier question just how close the world's revelation really was.

Reaching out with his most exercised muscle, his mind, Xavier was about to call out to his staff and students, but held back after feeling an incoming presence. Turning to his door, the wheelchair-bound man waited. Three. Two. One.

The head of Katherine Pride grew, in the most disturbing bloom he had ever seen, out from the large wooden door that guarded his study. After the rest of her followed, the image shifted back to normal, but it left Xavier the greatest impression that his door was liquid. Ignoring the notion, he commented lightly before the girl could speak.

"I realize that intangibility makes it hard to knock, but it is still common courtesy to knock anyways, Kitty."

The girl ignored the comment and simply sped over to the man and thrust something forward into Xavier's view. It was a simple binder, black in covering, but Xavier knew it must've held some importance to something.

"What is this, Kitty?"

Instead of answering, she merely opened it up. The first page was merely a plastic sleeve that was commonly used to preserve paper and protect it from harm. But instead of paper, it was pictures. And oddly enough, the pictures weren't of Kitty or her family and friends. But rather, it was of his missing student, Luke. A younger Luke, with an even younger girl that Xavier didn't recognize immediately. But a quick comparison and a few faint memories from past sessions with Luke told Xavier that the girl was Luke's sister.

"Why do you have this, Kitty? And what are you showing me for?"

The girl simply grinned as if she had solved everything. "Luke would never just leave this behind. He cares about it; otherwise he would've never hid it away. So that has to mean he was taken by Terrence. Plus, now that I think about it, none of the Brotherhood was at school."

Xavier simply shut the book and pushed it back to the girl.

"You've violated whatever trust Luke has given us. Never do something like this again, Kitty. And I've received new news about a situation that may involve our wayward mutant. Go put this back and get prepped for a quick flight in the Blackbird. The X-men have a mission."

Kitty nodded, her head bobbing happily despite the lecture and orders. She was just glad something was being done about Luke. It felt wrong to her not to do something. She didn't know why, but it simply just didn't sit well with her. Xavier had made solid points about Luke, but it didn't matter. It must've been out of principle. And she was just sure her fellow X-men would've agreed if she would've asked them.

Upper New York - Underground Laboratory

True to his word, the scout had perfectly described the encounter planned in the entrance hallway. Two guards had been watching over the entrance, the only exits that they knew of. In less than two seconds, both guards were both fixed on watching the entrance, staring perfectly straight as death glazed over their eyes. And they continued their watch in silence. No alarm was set off at the entrance of the 5 mysterious figures.

The scouting member took the lead once again, walking around each corner without a care in the world of being spotted. No one would ever see him unless he wanted them to. His clothes stood out like an imploded rainbow, colors and stripes everywhere. Even his hair was dyed multiple colors. And it all helped him blend in even more. His short height and thin appearance did little to hide his lack of physical strength, but there was an aura around him that made people wary, as if the man could pull anything out of his sleeve.

Behind the brightly colored team member followed the mutant codenamed Fissure. Fissure constantly glared at the world with his dark colored eyes, standing a head above everyone else on the team. His unruly red hair jutted out from all angles as if it had never been combed. He dressed appropriately for his job, dark colors and form-fitting attire. It only helped his appearance of someone completely cut off from everyone around him.

The only female of the team skipped merrily down the hallway, circling around the group repeatedly as they made their way down the halls that the scout had cleared. Always abundant in energy, she smiled gleefully at all the possible collectables to be had in the labs the team was entering. So many medical items to find and hoard. She was making it her personal mission to find her very own stethoscope. Dressed in a light blue skirt, flip-flops, and a small pink t-shirt, the girl looked every bit of her age of a 9 year-old Barbie.

Snipe trudged alongside his boss, hands furrowed deep in the pockets of his black cargo pants. His begrudging expression showed how much he really cared to be here, but his silence proved his determination. His heavy boots thumped against the tiled floor, but it was a much more pleasing sound than that of flip-flops. A red and gray hoodie topped Snipe's frame, along with a pair of goggles that hung loose around his neck. A quick look over revealed to Snipe just how mysterious his boss really was.

Unlike the young men and even younger girl that he employed, the man beside him was in his late 40's. Or at least that was how he appeared. Rumors had been spread that the man didn't age at all, but they were only rumors. The man wore a dark cloak that concealed his body from the feet up, with a dark hood that shadowed his face. His hands were constantly inside the sleeves of the cloak he wore, giving no indication of race. The only way he was sure that the man was even a man was because of his voice. It was almost as if the person beside him was formless. And with as many unnatural things as Snipe had seen, it was actually possible.

The hallways ahead began to shift ever so subtly, with doors and signs beginning to blend in with the walls. The team proceeded on without a change in pace. The boss would've said something if there was any need to stop and search every room. The scouting member of the team was still strolling on ahead, not a care in the world about where he was going. Even as a door opened up on his left and a man garbed in a scientist coat and slacks stepped out, the scout remain as careless as ever.

The group behind him stopped and starred at the man, who oddly enough was oblivious to the strange group of people standing in the hallway. The man started walking down the hall, passing by the group that had divided to clear his path. Only when the little girl of the group snorted in her amusement did the man notice anything wrong. He stiffened, ready to turn and see what had made the sound, only to stop and fall forward, as lifeless as the guards that still guarded the entrance to this laboratory.

Snipe drew back his index finger and blew on the tip of it and watched in mild fascination as the flesh mended back over the tip. The group continued wordlessly, not even bothering to hide their presence in the laboratory by hiding their victims. By the time anyone knew what was up, everything would be falling down on their heads. The leader of the group let a chilling grin shine from beneath his hood, not that any of his minions noticed.

With DJ

DJ stood still and looked over what could only be the weirdest man he had ever seen in his life. The man was wearing an insanely ridiculous outfit of red metal plates and a purple cape. He had a helmet that covered his entire head with the exception of his face. He looked like a deranged knight from the Medieval Ages. But the worst part was that he was floating. The man was suspended in air without a single reason or cause, but it had to have been normal for him.

"Who are you? How are you doing that? What do you want from me? Where are we anyways?"

The series of questions slipped out of DJ, asking for information, but also telling just how confused the man was with his situation. The hovering man slowly eased out of the air and landed with a light _clank_ of metal. Extending his arm slowly, the man held out his hand to shake DJ's.

"I've been called many things before, child. But you may simply know me as Magneto, the master of magnetism. This is how I was able to open that door and float, if that is what your second question was concerning. As for our location, we are somewhere in New York inside a facility run by men of science. You were brought here to further enlighten the humans below us just how little they truly know and to be their test subject. I am here to intervene and to offer you a way out of being a mere lab rat. Darius, you are a mutant with great abilities, and as such you will always be sought out after if your powers are ever revealed, and they will be, given time. For now I am offering you a place by my side to shelter you from people like the ones here that will try to use you for their own gains. Our race is much more than experiments to be caged in laboratories like this. So I am asking if you would like to join me."

Lost, DJ put his head in his hands, thinking deeply before crying out "I just wanna go home. I ain't got anything to do with all of this, so just leave me out. I'll stay quiet about my powers and live my life like I ought to. I don't wanna be some outcast or a freak they put on the evening news."

A gloved hand clapped down on DJ's shoulder, causing him to look up from his near panic attack. The man behind the helmet fixed him with a hard look.

"You will never be able to simply live your life, Darius. When the world discovers there are people like you and me, as they are quickly finding out, then there will be war. Everyone will turn upon one another and we must be ready. Mutants will not simply die out due to our gifts. I will not allow it. I am offering you asylum to live among your kind, away from the forthcoming bigotry and hatred that your neighbors will shower you with. There will be no hiding from this, nor should there. You have a gift and it would be spitting in the eyes of whatever gave you this gift to simply not use it."

Radio static echoed in the room, screeching and buzzing before being reigned in. DJ opened his mouth to talk, but couldn't find the words to say. Sounds began spilling out, random bursts of lines, quotes, and music that each chipped in pieces of how the man felt, all intermingled into one sound. Magneto reveled in the sound.

"You're sure you can protect me?"

DJ finally managed to silence his own sounds enough to talk. Magneto nodded before continuing on with his explanation.

"There are many others who are like you and have joined my cause. To protect mutant kind from the oncoming catastrophe that is bound to happen. But we need time. Places like this are an abomination both to science and nature. We must destroy this place and all of the research that is here, before information leaks any farther. This is your chance to protect mutants alongside me."

Never had it been said that Magneto was a bad public speaker. Persuasion was often considered one of his more subtle talents and it was abundantly clear why to any impartial observer. DJ fell for Magneto's cause hook, line, and sinker.

With a new Acolyte in hand, Magneto lifted himself up once more and began to float out of the room to retrieve his other followers, DJ following closely behind like a dog on his heels.

Room 49

Room 49 was the one room inside the entire building that was considered unimportant by the secretly hired staff of the laboratory hidden in New York. It was also the only room inside the building that was decorated. Room 49, for lack of better terms by the current occupants, was the break room.

The Brotherhood had been lounging around the sofas and chairs in the room for what felt like an entire day. None of them had left once, for fear of being caught breaking one of Mystique's orders. Terrence was the only exception to this rule, being that he was personally requested to go watch the head doctor over the labs. There was no TV in the room, no radio, no computers, or anything that could entertain the teens, but because of its furnishings compared to the other rooms, this room was like an arcade. Lance had taken roost in a chair he had reclined back and dozed off in, ignorant of the other two boys in the room, who were making a mess. Fred had already destroyed the vending machines in the room and was frequently checking the mini-fridge every other minute to see if any food had magically appeared in it since he had last checked. Todd had taken the time to explore every nook and cranny of the room, smearing and staining every surface he touched. The cabinets that had once upon a time been white were now an off color of green. How he had managed to smear that color was a mystery to Amanda, the only person in the room that was sane. Or at least in her opinion.

Amanda had been sitting on one end of a couch by herself the entire time she had been in the room. She hadn't said a word to anyone else in the room, keeping quiet as she thought of her last few hours. It was all so strange. Mystique had outlined such an obscure plan the girl never did understand, she had just nodded her pretty little head and did her part. But why? Mystique had set her up as bait for Luke, who the woman had known would fall for.

Mystique had used whatever friendship that Amanda and Luke had made for her own gain. But was it really even friendship? Was she really a friend to the guy if she simply encased him in crystal under orders from someone else? Even after he had given her that stupid little watch that disguised her now imperfect skin? She didn't put it back on after Luke was caught. She had left it on her nightstand and left with Mystique to finish out the shape shifter's plans. And now she was just sitting here while Luke was trapped getting dissected by some crazy scientist. Mystique didn't care. The other guys didn't care. So if she was on the Brotherhood side, why did she care?

Amanda had been wrestling those thoughts around in her head, never being able to lay them at rest. She felt exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. She could practically see the bags under her eyes, but even when she closed them, they never felt rested.

The sound of the door opening jerked all 4 teens in the room out of their stupors and focused their attention on the young man standing in the doorway. Terrence walked in the room, Mystique slipping in behind him.

"The other mutant we brought with us here, DJ, has escaped. We have been given orders to find him and properly restrain him this time. We will not do anything of the sort, but for now, we must make an attempt to play our parts. DJ is currently being handled by someone else and will be out of the picture. So search every room along the hallways and make it look like you gave an effort. Then report back here in an hour. By then we will be ready to move on to our next part of the plan."

Mystique then slipped right back out of the room, changing from her true blue form to the appearance of some faceless doctor. The Brotherhood all looked around at each other and grouped up. Awkwardly enough, Lance and Fred made their way down one end of the hallway from the break room, leaving Todd to pester Terrence and Amanda. In the short time Todd had meet the strong mutant, he had learned quickly not to mess with him. So he focused his attention on the only female of the group and began to muster up his impervious charm and swagger. Much to Amanda's displeasure, this also mustered up his B.O.

Blackbird - Upper New York Airspace

"You're saying that there's some kind of mutant battle that's gonna take place somewhere in the woods down here and you want us to be the peace brokers? I'm sorry Professor but that seems a little too much for us. We're not ready for this kind of thing."

Scott was many things. He was stubborn, loyal, obedient, and principled. He was an ideal X-man in Xavier's eyes. But Scott was also someone who would vehemently protest anything that he disagreed with. As leader of the X-men, it was a good thing for him to know how much his team could do. But now was not the time for the young man to doubt their capabilities.

"Scott, I'm well aware of the dangers that this situation presents to us, but it is vital that we do this. For so many mutant powers to be used all so closely to one another that Rebecca could sense it from Virginia is astounding. It could also be disastrous if left unhandled. I will personally promise that I will not ask you to step out and stop this fighting as it may very well be over your heads. But I am asking you to do your part, and that includes supporting me in my decisions."

"Yes, Professor."

Xavier never felt like he had at any point trained his students to be loyal dogs to his service, but the reply almost made him. Scott began to lower altitude, with Storm assisting him. They were aiming for a clearing not to far from where Xavier was beginning to feel several presences. None of them were discernable at this range.

He had told his team that new information had been brought to light about Luke's disappearance and current location in the forest below. Filling them in on the mutant activity he had been told about, he fed them his theory that Luke may be involved in the fighting, and if so, they would merely let him be. Kitty had looked ready to burst at that, with Kurt looking similarly outraged. The two weren't going to lose their newest teammate without a fight.

Xavier had also told them that there may be more going on down there than he had originally thought. After halfway explaining the situation with emerging scientists studying mutants and mutations, the telepath suggested the possibility that there were mutants down below that were being studied. This led to several unasked and unanswered questions. Was Luke down there by choice volunteering to help science or had he been kidnapped and experimented on? What kind of studies were they doing down there and how long would it take for them to go public?

Xavier did not attempt to explain what he planned to do with the research being done down in the woods. His students would never understand just why he had to erase all evidence and traces of mutants from the labs as well as the minds below.

The Blackbird finally landed smoothly in the clearing, opening its underbelly hatch to release the mutants inside. The younger mutant, led by Wolverine, sped off in the direction given to them by their Professor while Storm made sure the man himself made it to their destination safely in his wheelchair. The team arrived at what used to be a heavy door, now in even pieces, opening a white hallway before them.

Logan halted the group, taking whiffs of the air and calling out "There was a group of them to come through here, probably unannounced. Four, maybe five of them. Assume all of them are mutants and dangerous. Do not pick a fight with these guys unless they start it. They wouldn't be here if they weren't the real deal. Xavier wants to know what they want, so find out. See if you can find our missing masochist while you're at it."

After his short instructions, he ran off down the hallway, disappearing out of sight as the man rounded the corner. Scott stepped forward, leading the team of young mutants down the hallway opposite of the one Wolverine had taken. Kurt was prowling along the walls ahead of the group, checking out windows and scanning the rooms.

"Empty. Are we sure that the mutants came this way?"

"Hey! It's those losers up on the hill, the X-dorks!"

Scott and the two girls skidded to a halt alongside Kurt as the Brotherhood emerged from a side hall and blocked the hall.

"I think we found the mutants. What are you guys doing here? What could you possibly break, vandalize, or destroy around here."

Blob, the one who had spoken before, stepped out and thrust his chest out proudly with his arms crossed.

"I destroyed that vending machine back in thee break room pretty good. I folded it in half like a, um, a…"

"Can it, big guy. We don't need to tell them anything. Take care of these losers while I go inform Mystique of what's going on. She's gonna want to hear this."

Terrence took a step back and was already running down the hall when Lance shot over his shoulder "You're just scared to fight these guys!"

Terrence kept running, but the Brotherhood all laughed before charging forward to do their respective thing. Break stuff. Crystal hung back from the other three, catching Kurt's eye before he teleported over to confront her.

"You're that girl from school that Luke hangs around with, ja? Would you know why he's here? And what are you guys doing here? We shouldn't even be fighting."

Crystal ignored the blue elf and concentrated on growing crystals off of the wall Kurt was hanging off of. He leapt away before she could snag him, teleporting mid air and reappearing in a tackle that knocked her flat and let him pin her.

"You don't have to do this. We aren't trying to be your enemies. I just want to know if you know where Luke is!"

The barrage of questionings about the boy she was still so confused about just made Amanda angrier and desperate, so in response to the talking, she grew crystals from the floor that slammed Kurt off of her and put her back on the defensive.

The three guys of the Brotherhood were already attacking the other X-men, with Blob trying to boulder through everything, Toad tried to annoy everyone, and Lance shook things with his powers. Cyclops let Jean lift him telekinetically to prevent any damage from Lance's earthquake and took aim at the stubby legs that Fred had. Firing a steady shot, he tripped the large teen, who fell face-first and began to roll, aided by Lance causing tremors to boost him down the hall.

Kitty phased out of the way and grabbed Toad by surprise, turning him intangible until they were going full speed into a wall, leaving the twit moaning on the floor. Scott and Jean, on the other hand, had to deal with the mad wrecking ball that was now the Blob. Cyclops fired a high powered beam in a wide spread, catching the Blob full on but hardly slowing him. Jean began pressing against him with her mind, but it was to no avail. As the ball of flesh came closer, Cyclops frantically shouted "Up! Lift him up!"

Jean complied and picked the rolling form of Fred up, easier than expected due to his momentum. But once in the air, he lost that momentum and became all the more easily blasted back by Cyclops into Avalanche. The two teens were both out, Lance from the crushing weight, and Fred from the disorientation. Crystal heard her teammates go down and turned to run, making tracks down the hallway she had come from. Kitty took pursuit, hollering "Get her! She has to know where Luke is! If the Brotherhood is here then that means that they kidnapped him and brought him here too."

The other three X-men looked at each other and looked at the defeated mutants lying around the hallway before chasing after their teammates. After all, if they had beaten those guys, they would give up, right?

With Wolverine

The lone Canadian mutant had followed the scent left behind by the people at the door, oblivious to whether or not his students followed him. It was probably best they didn't. He had past two dead guards and a scientist in the halls. The kids would've been sick looking at it. Logan didn't have those qualms as he looked over the fatal wounds that each one had obtained. They were bleeding from a small hole in the head, the diameter the size of his pinky finger. It gave Wolverine the notion that the mutants were using guns. That was fine, as bullets practically bounced off of him and he had been shot many times in his life. He was all but used to the amount of pain that came with gun shot wounds. So when he finally caught the back end of the group, it surprised him when one member turned and cocked his hand back like a gun.

Instantly, the impact caused him to nearly spin completely in a circle as he started bleeding from his left arm. Wolverine glanced at it and watched as his healing factor pushed something white back out of his skin and it fell to the floor with a clatter. Looking up, he saw the grim expression on the shooter's face and the smoking tip of his finger.

"Hold on a second before you shoot more of those bones. I just want to ask a couple of questions."

Logan had held his hands up in the air at this, but internally he was ready to tear the group apart. A few guys in their early twenties, a little girl, and a mysteriously cloaked figure, obviously the leader. Nothing he couldn't handle. The figure in the cloak called out his order "Someone go deal with this fool since Snipe here is incapable of putting the beast down."

The largest of the group, a red head, stepped out but a scrawny Asian boy raced out in front of him, hollering "You guys go on without me. We're done being sneaky anyways. This guys all mine."

Logan snarled and was ready to make the punk in front of him eat his words when he saw the hallway in front of him go blank. Everyone disappeared.

"Get out of my head! You won't like what you'll find in there."

Still no one appeared back in his vision. In fact, nothing happed at all.

"I'm not in your head. I'm giving you a glimpse of mine."

Logan sprang away from the voice that had just whispered in his ear, claws out as a deterrent and to shish kebab the speaker. There wasn't a single person in the hallway, or at least one he could see. One strong sniff from his nose told him that someone was still there, but no location.

A twinkling in the corner of his peripherals caused the man to turn, prepared to strike, only to be kicked solidly in his back. Tumbling forward and crashing into the wall, Wolverine pushed himself off of it to lash out in the general area he was attacked from. Nothing was there.

"Where are you? Turning yourself invisible won't keep you safe forever! And when I find you…" Wolverine let his threat hang, his claws more than enough indication as to the fate of their victim. But unfortunately for the man, the threat wasn't enough.

A mocking laugh came from in front of him, indiscernible in origin. "You fool. By now you should realize that you'll only find what I want you to find. You'll see as I see fit. And for now, I think I'll leave you to wander in darkness."

Before Wolverine could act upon the last statement, darkness erupted and overtook his vision. He couldn't make out a single thing in front of him. There was simply nothing there. He closed his now useless eyes and began concentrating on his other two senses. He couldn't sniff the mutant out; there was no distinct smell to follow him with. And the brat must've been trained on how to move quietly, because Wolverine couldn't hear the slightest of ruffles from clothes or footsteps. How was he going to fight this guy if he couldn't locate him?

Looking at his now blind opponent made the antagonistic mutant want to laugh. Did this brute not realize how silly he looked with his eyes closed and a constipated look on his face? It was his life's greatest pleasure to make people look stupid or confused, but doing it to other mutants was his personal favorite. He enjoyed it so much that for a solid month he had maintained the illusion that Fissure was actually a woman the age of 74 and 400 pounds heavier. The looks on everyone's face after they figured it out was priceless. He hadn't come up with any elaborate schemes since then, but he had time. The boss would never disassemble a dream team like this. If only he could take one of the boys running around this base back into the fold. Either Terrence or Luke would be suitable, but neither had been offered a slot on the roster. How disappointing. Those two had the potential to tear guys like this apart. Whether or not they had the heart or the meddle to was the real question.

So now he was going to leave this clawed man, enraptured as he was by the optic illusions woven over him. When he finally does reopen his eyes, for he most certainly would, he would find himself without hope. 3 layers of trickery had been placed on the man, each one closer and closer to reality. The closer the illusion comes to reality, the harder it is for the mind to break. And for such a weak mind like this, it would take days, if not weeks. After all, he had caused a person to live the rest of their lives under his illusion's influence. This man would be so lost he could never pose a threat to any operations left to perform here.

So the scouting member of the infiltrating mutants left without a sound, trekking towards the place he was positive he could reconnect with his group.

Dr. Gage's Observatory Chambers

"Where are they? I sent them out to find a single escaped mutant nearly an hour ago! But not a single one of them have shown up on the cameras I have access to, not has a single guard responded to my messages. These Brotherhood characters are beginning to be more troublesome than they're worth."

"I'd agree to that any day."

From behind her glasses, the doctor's eyes focused back on her subject of science, as well as her subject of despise. He was awake again, after recuperating from the painful backlash his powers came with. Good. Now she could begin with the next phase of testing. Leaving her chair and entering the room her prisoner was in, she called out "Good to see you're awake, sleeping beauty. I thought you were going to sleep for another hour or so. You were snoring pretty hard in that rock."

"You wouldn't believe how bad this thing is for your neck. You've gotta to try it sometime. Maybe Crystal will slip up and leave you fully entombed to die like the monster you are!"

"Someone woke up a little cranky today. Is it because I didn't read you a bedtime story like mommy always did?"

"Bite me."

Her test subject was certainly acting up right now. Maybe the pain had rattled his cage a little. It didn't matter. She just needed to be cautious with him. Who knows what he would do to her if given the chance? Digging into her lab pocket, she pulled out her next test drug. Muscle relaxers. If Mystique wasn't lying, then this would render Luke all but useless. It was definitely worth looking into. The pharmacy here didn't have much in the form of medicine, but what she had found would be more than enough to prove her theory.

Standing in front of her 'patient', she popped the lid off of the dispenser and poured two out. Luke's eyes followed and a quick twitch of the nose caused the two pills to go flying out of her hands to the ground.

"Real mature. But if you catch an infection for taking pills off the floor, it's on your head."

Bending over two grab the two tablets, she was rewarded with an omnipresent push forward that sent her flat on her face.

"Great view from here, Doc. You should offer this course of treatment to all of you patients."

Her test subject was bleeding from both the nose and the mouth, but he didn't care. He was overjoyed with his petty revenge. Once she steadied herself once again on her own two feet, she pried open his mouth of force fed him the two pills. Pushing on his throat, she made sure he swallowed. Stepping back, she gave the medicine time to work and made her comeback recovery.

"Were you trying to suck my fingers just then? I know 15's a hard age to go through and in a way I'm flattered, but-"

"But you should stop before you say anything else. You know as well as I do that I would verbally butcher you in the conversation that would follow. So just scram on back to your creepy stalker room and take some more notes, nerd. You should be flattered too, because a woman as crazy as you will never, and I mean never, ever get hooked up. Capturing young boys in tombs of rock is the closest you'll get to a man for a long while, honey. Soak it up."

Tossing her hair over her shoulder and walking away from the verbal trouncing she had just received, she had almost made it out of the room when she noticed her test subject go loose. He was still held in place inside the crystal prison, but he was noticeably strung out. And at the same time, the door leading back to the observation room fell apart in two perfectly even pieces. Before she could question it, a man stepped out of the doorway, dressed in black pants and a red hoodie, pointed his finger at her, then everything stopped as her chest erupted in white hot pain. She collapsed on the floor, hand clutched around her new wound above the sternum.

From the floor, she watched as others moved into the room. One took a look at her and questioned "Should we finish her off, boss? It seems like Snipe isn't on his A-game today and didn't kill her in one."

She could no longer see who answered, but it sounded like a man. "No, let her suffer and bleed out. A scientist like her who's willing to cut us apart in search of an answer she will never understand does not deserve mercy."

Things were beginning to fade from her vision. The blood loss was taking its toll and she wouldn't live much longer at this rate. And in the face of pain like what she had, she was fine with that. They could have her test subject, her research, and her life's work. As long as the pain stopped and her files finished transferring to her benefactor's mainframe like they should be doing at that moment.

She watched as through a blurry haze as the pink hue of shape she knew to be crystal fall and shatter on the floor, along with the mutant she knew to be Luke fall with it. Two figures, probably male, picked the teen up and hoisted him off the ground. The group began to trudge on out, not saying a word as a woman was left dying on the floor.

Hallway outside Observatory Chamber

As boss of such an efficient and deadly team of mutants that listed among the top inside the Network, the man cloaked in black had to be a terribly powerful and unmoral person. Part of the rumors spread about him, some he leaked himself, told of how he would leave people just enough alive to use them as his own puppets. These rumors, along with the uncanny talent he had with directing teams and squads of underground mutants, led to his moniker of the Director. He was proud of it. But at moments like now, he had to seriously question why he was so proud of controlling the idiots he as surrounded by.

"You left him alone, without any harm done to him, and with no useful way to take him out later should the man ever wake up from your little spell. Oh, how you disappoint me, Genkaku. I left you behind with the assurance that you would either leave that man a pile of cooling flesh or crying in a corner hyperventilating. You have failed to meet either of those options. Next time, let Fissure handle it."

"Oh, don't sweat it boss. We got one of the targets, the crazy doctor lady is dead, and we know our other target is gonna come after us as long as we have that lump."

Genkaku played off his lecture, patting Luke on the head like a confused puppy. The brightly dressed mutant then continued on with "That man won't be a bother to us at all. Unless someone else knock him for a loop, he'll be thinking we're somewhere in Canada. Or maybe he'll take a left and walk himself right back outside the base. He's a goner by now, boss man."

"You'd better hope so."

The Director continued down the hallway, heading back towards the main entrance. There were bound to be other mutants pouring in and out of the place by now. He needed to keep an eye on that to make sure his second target didn't slip away.

With Xavier

After tracking his team telepathically, Xavier and Storm had found Wolverine, curled in a ball on the floor with his eyes closed. It was an odd sight, for sure, but the two knew just how serious the situation was. Storm used her communicator built into her suit to contact the others, while Xavier merely called out to his old friend telepathically.

'_Logan, I'm here. What is going on?'_

'_There's something in my head, Charles. I can feel it. There was this mutant who was changing what I saw. He was showing me things that weren't real and hiding what was. I can't tell the truth anymore. You've got to fix me.'_

'_Give me a moment and stay calm.'_

Xavier had cleared many minds before of clouded thoughts, insane ideas, and even of embarrassing facts about him, but illusions was something he had never had the experience of clearing out. It took an understanding of the illusion that often put the telepath at risk of falling under the same illusion if they weren't strong enough. Charles felt around in Logan's psyche, feeling the foreign presence tugging at his optic senses. It was washed away in seconds, a testament to the power behind Charles Xavier's mind.

Now that Wolverine was cured and the others were on their way, Xavier searched for other presences with his mind. He could feel the frantic thoughts of Amanda as she ran through the hallways. He could sense how badly Kitty still wanted to chase her. He was faintly aware of Mystique, as well as two other people with her. A group of six was felt heading towards them, and more importantly, the entrance. And at the tip of his psychic senses he could feel two minds departing at a rapid pace, both clouded heavily with interference to prevent telepaths from delving any further than he had. The interference that stopped him was familiar enough for the man to deduce just who he felt.

Magneto had left with another. That left Mystique and her Brotherhood, who were now recovering and making plans to head towards the entrance. Mystique was proud of herself. She had accomplished her goals of destroying the files on every computer in the building's system and setting up the perfect scenario for Magneto to recruit a new mutant from. DJ had been tricked, it seemed.

Xavier stopped his mental delving suddenly, feeling the presence of another mental body pressing against his own. Defensively, he pressed back, only to find himself unopposed. It was if the mind he had encountered was water. It had merely flowed around his mental push, as if there was nothing solid tying the mind down. As if the mind were truly separate from the body. Astounding. And then the mind vanished.

Xavier was brought out of his revelation by the arrival of his students. Scott reported on what they had done, even though Xavier had already learned of most of it. The victory over the Brotherhood was a highlight to just how disciplined and trained his students had become. It made him proud. But now they were going to fight again, against tougher adversaries. Mutant who had proven their power and their lack of morals to restrain such powers. Such people would be incredibly dangerous to his X-men in any form of combat, which Xavier was positive would occur if Logan's encounter was anything to go by. Unless…

Reaching out as far as he dared with another mental body out there, Xavier tapped onto Mystique's mind. Overcoming the woman's natural thought process, he ordered her to order the two with her to come with her and help. The trio caught up with Crystal as well, who followed along the orders too. Despite his distaste for things like that, Charles knew the risk that his team would be facing against the 6 mutants ahead of them. They would kill without hindrance, and Xavier could not simply let his team take that risk without the proper back-up. Mystique would've tried attacking these mutants anyway, it might as well of been synchronized with Xavier's attack, right?

Mystique would attack with her three from behind, letting Xavier's team attack a divided team. It had a much greater favor for everyone this way.

So when the group of Network mutants marched around the corner, Xavier already had his team prepared for war. Scott and Jean had been told telepathically who they would be concerned with. The illusionist. Storm would be taking the girl, who was probably very powerful is she was that young and still with a covert team. Mystique would deal with the one who had shot Logan. Terrence and Crystal would be ordered to attack the red head. Wolverine would be with him for protection as he took on the mentalist of the team, leaving Kitty and Kurt to take care of last mutant, who was no recognizable as Luke.

The mutant of mention didn't look to good at the moment, and the two men carrying him simply set him aside in the hallway. About that time, Mystique had arrived with his reinforcements, none the wiser of her decision being entirely Xavier's choice. Wordlessly, the mutants all squared off against their selected targets and the fighting began as soon as Xavier and the other mind clashed.

It was over quickly. The man in a black cloak simply stood there and began trying to constrict Xavier mentally while his team was divided around him. He didn't care. Nothing would ever hurt him himself. The two began to fight on a level higher than anyone around them understood. Neither side could gain leeway, as Xavier was much more powerful than the Director, but the Director was impossible to assault mentally it seemed. The two were tied as the others began fights of their own.

Fissure was being hard pressed by the barrage of fists and kicks thrown his way, each one with enough force to break his bones if the wind coming off of them was anything to go by. He avoided every one and couldn't dare try to counter and cut the limbs off, because he was constantly jumping around to avoid the spires of crystal formations growing around him that looked sharp enough to skewer him through. He was being boxed in and he knew it, but he didn't have the time to cut either the crystals or the teen attacking him. With every missed attack, Terrence would rebound off of the walls, floor, or even the crystal pillars to speed himself up. Hard pressed, he met his end when a crystal tripped him and a stomp to the head rendered the agent unconscious.

Snipe was firing his finger bullets wildly, unable to hit his target who changed for every time he got a clear shot. It was absurd how crafty the shape-shifter was. From a raven that shed many feathers, to a snake, to a person, Mystique proved impossible for him to hit, even with his enhanced vision. After dodging his last bullet with an acrobatic flip, she quickly went from her handspring to a sharp kick to his head, followed by repeated kicks that left the sniper knocked out on the floor.

Rift was having better luck, as nothing was reaching her. Lightning and rain all vanished into the abyss of her left hand, leaving behind a girl perfectly unharmed. Every weather element thrown at the child merely gravitated towards her open palm and vanished. But the weather witch in front of the child was also unhurt by anything that Rift projected back out with her right hand. A gale of wind protected the white-haired woman from all the things shot out of Rift's pocket dimension. Random items, like rocks, a hammer, lightning and hail from Storm's earlier attacks, and other little household things. The two were stuck in a stalemate. Storm couldn't use her wind anymore than she was without possibly hurting her friends and Rift couldn't shoot anything she had inside her pocket dimension hard enough that the wind wouldn't stop it.

Genkaku had been walloped by the astounding teamwork between the two red head X-men. Jean protected Scott from any illusions with her developing telepathy while he made the shot with his optic beam. Caught off guard by his failure to capture them both in an illusion, the mutant didn't dodge in time. The scrawny man was thrown into the wall and slide to the floor, completely incapacitated. Piece of cake.

Luke had been carried out of harm's way by Kitty, then teleported to the Blackbird by Kurt, who was preparing it for an emergency exit with Kitty. Nothing was left for Xavier except to leave. And he had the perfect way to do so.

"Rouge, if you would be so kind."

Rouge had been with Mystique the entire time they had been in the labs. She had followed the woman silently, staying out of the fighting she felt she had no part in. But when Xavier asked, she stepped in with her gloveless hand and tapped the cloaked man on the side of his face, causing him to fall over in a slump. She shivered from the contact, but otherwise seemed unaffected by the power she had just drained.

"Thank you. Now X-men, let's get out of here."

As Mystique left to gather her defeated boys before leaving herself and Rift began to tend to her fallen team, the X-men left the labs with their heads held high. They had succeeded in every way that mattered. No one they knew had died, the files were destroyed, and Luke had been found. Things were good.

As Xavier rolled back into the plane and strapped himself in, he looked over to Luke, who was laying flat on his back in the floor. The teen ignored the odd look and simply said "By the time this stuff wears off and I can walk again, I want at least an hour to myself to go visit McDonald's. I haven't eaten in what feels like forever!"

Smiling, Xavier nodded his consent and looked forward to going home with his X-men. He could sort out all the questions later. For now, the bald man just wanted to enjoy their success.

AN: What's there left to say, guys? No one reads these author's notes anyways. Maybe it's because I complain too much? Next chapter will be wrapping up this little side event and focus back in on the cannon plotline. From there, I doubt I'll stray too much from the plot until the second season starts. Here's hoping. I know I didn't feed you guys much info on my Network mutants, but until we hit a part where they become a constant relevancy with the story, I'm not gonna bog you guys down with remembering all the little things that make all of them cool. So in order to do that, I had to make the fights short and lame. I hated that. I'm sure you guys do too.

Chapter title goes to the greatest hits CD Eminem made after Encore. Characters are all mine, even if they are based loosely off of other things. My Beta might have fixed this chapter. I'm not sure yet because he doesn't have the time to help beta my work anymore. Apparently he's to busy being done with school and taking cat naps for several hours at a time. He's about as useful as a lighter is putting out fires. Either way, Big Willis, out.


	10. You Got A Friend In Me

AN: I'm free! Free from school, my friends, and most importantly, English 2! Now if only I could get the nightmares to stop. Disclaimer: I don't own X-men Evolution or any of Marvel's products. I just abuse them with my literary masterpieces. They can't sue me for being sarcastic in that last statement, right?

Chapter 10

You got a Friend in Me

X-mansion - Xavier's Study

The X-men had long since touched down back home and had spent the night sleeping away their well-earned rest. The following morning would be the time set aside to clear up just what all had happened. Moreover, two people were getting a head start by collaborating what they knew.

"So how did you guys find me anyways? Being stuck out in the woods away from civilization usually makes it hard to find someone."

Charles looked into the eyes of his curious student, who quickly averted his gaze back to the window and night sky.

"We found you, once again, through Rebecca. Her powers have been reemerging and showed her glimpses of you, as well as all the other mutants in that lab. She called me and warned me about the situation. Kitty also had me try to track your location with Cerebro when you never came home from the party."

"Sorry about not asking for permission to go to that. I guess I'm still in a 'better to ask forgiveness than permission' mind state. This whole thing could've been avoided if I would've stayed at home."

"Could it? You were specifically captured by the Brotherhood under Mystique's orders to be delivered. I doubt that they wouldn't have tried something like this while you were at school or by yourself. However, the motive behind your capture is what concerns me. What did Mystique have to gain by delivering you to Dr. Gage? What could the doctor offer to a woman like Mystique?"

"You mean Mystique's boss. Thanks for not telling me that she was second in command or whatever. I appreciate being in the loop. Gage said something about paying Mystique's boss. I'm assuming she meant money."

Charles snorted in mild amusement. "Magneto has no need for mere currency. No, he wanted something more from all of this. I sensed him with DJ, the mutant we were looking into. Magneto may have simply done this to gain another mutant by his side."

"Magneto, huh? Everyone around here as codenames and secret pasts. How come I don't get some cool moniker?"

"There's a vote that all senior members at the school participate in to decide on younger students codename. So far, all we've managed to decide is what not to dub you. We'll get back to you on that."

The straight face on the wheelchair bound man almost had Luke going for a moment, and then he stopped and laughed.

"Oh, you're funny, wise guy. Is there anything else you want to grill me for? If not, then I do have some soda sipping to catch back up on. That and a bunch of homework. Why would a teacher give homework on the weekend when she knows that there's a party somewhere?"

"What all did Gage do to you? What can you recount? I know you were either unconscious or in a haze, but tell me the in betweens." Charles was still serious and his concern showed in his tone of voice.

"She gave me something in a syringe that supposedly sped up the messages being sent through my nervous system. All I knew is that it made everything hurt worse. I went unconscious after that, woke up, and then she gave me two pills. She didn't explain what they did, but from what I remember, I couldn't hardly move or talk. It was like being strung out, I guess. I'd never felt like that before."

Xavier sorted the information inside his bald noggin, his mind already making guesses as to what could've really happened. He then began to lay out everything he knew to Luke, to see if everything fit together right.

"We know that Magneto wanted DJ, but why did Mystique destroy the information? Magneto wouldn't have cared if mutants were revealed to the world. Unless he's planning something that he needs more time to prepare. So if we assume that, then he would've ordered Mystique to do Gage's job in order to get close to that information, as well as recruit DJ. That sounds logical. But what about the other mutant? What were they involved in the situation for?

"Those guys were definitely from the Network. Even as dopey as I was, I could still tell. The fact that they didn't kill me on the spot meant that they aren't trying to kill me for leaving. They killed Gage because she had leaked the identity of two Network members, me and Terrence, even though we've retired, so to speak. They killed the other people for being in the way. Other than that, they probably just didn't tolerate experiments on mutants. There's a big faction of Network goons who go around on missions to help other mutants in situations like that. Some of them are for good reasons, like to keep kid mutants out of forced service, but for others, it just gives them a 'righteous' reason to slaughter people."

Xavier nodded again. The Network was outside of his grasp of knowledge; he had no real source inside of it to keep him tied in with their mutants or their policies. Luke was doing a tremendous job clearing up the shady organization for him, unknowingly or not.

"So they would've carried you out of that lab and dumped you in the woods? Or would they want you to come back with them?"

Luke's face turned grim. "I would've been blackmailed back into service for that particular team. They had probably heard of me and wanted to check me out to see if I was a decent recruit. Chances are they would've looked for Terrence too. Fighting the X-men was a plus for them just in case they spotted a strong enough power to attempt recruiting. The more mutants they have on roster, the more jobs they can pull. The more jobs, the more money. You know how the rest goes."

"Is that what you wanted before you came here? A team of mutant to do jobs with you for the Network?"

"I wanted to make something of myself. Friends would've been nice. But I didn't need them, so I didn't go looking. I had something to prove and I still do. But I can do that here, where it's safer for everyone else."

"You've seen a lot of things for being 15 years old. When Gage died, you were hardly bothered, nor were you by the guards. Terrence mentioned other incidents, one where you left him to die, and the others where people died. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Luke rubbed his temples, thinking of what he wanted to tell the man he felt he owed a little truth.

"Me and Terrence have fought a lot. It tends to happen with mutants who compete against each other in a local area. What he was talking about was Tampa, the messiest place we ever fought at. I was on vacation and at a steam room in a hotel. Terrence was there for a hit, which he did wind up getting. But somewhere along the way, we got into an argument over whether or not I was there to get the hit or if I was actually vacationing. So he picked a fight and eventually I wrapped him up in some towels, shoved him in a closet, filled the steam room to the max and left. Terrence can't use his strength without tensing his muscles. If they're always contracting, like they were when I wrapped him up, then he can't build his strength up and release it. I knew he would be fine in an hour or so. There were plenty of people to help him as soon as I got on the next bus to Virginia."

Xavier nodded silently once more, a common action for him during the conversation. It sounded like a nice story, almost to the point that Xavier doubted how much of it was exaggerated. He wouldn't pry, because it ultimately did not matter. As long as Luke felt comfortable talking, then things were good.

"Now what about the other time? It isn't good for you to bear guilt for such a long time, Luke. It whittles you into an old man faster than you'd think." Speaking from experience, maybe?

"You're right. The people who died in Briars died from an accident. It was something that didn't have to happen, but it did. Again, Terrence and me had meet up, this time with me on a job. I was escorting a delivery truck with high tech computer parts. Terrence was after those parts. He rammed into the delivery truck with his own truck and I pushed his truck away to get space to work with. His truck hit another car that had run a stop sign, causing a wreck. From there, a pile-up emerged that killed one 17 year old girl, a baby, and a group of 4 old men going on a fishing trip. If I hadn't pushed Terrence's truck and that man wouldn't have run the stop sign, then that baby would be starting pre-school now. I know it wasn't entirely my fault and I've moved on from that, but at the same time, I can't deny my role in their deaths. It's something I live with."

Tucking his hands together, Xavier sighed and told his student to go to bed. He needed the rest more than any of the others did. As the gravity manipulation gifted teen left, Xavier told him "Logan's asked for permission to get more one on one time with you. He didn't take no for an answer. I would suggest you start drinking healthier liquids from now on. Otherwise, you may lose your taste for them in an unpleasing manner."

Luke just groaned and meandered off to bed, collapsing into a deep sleep. Xavier, on the other hand, made his way to the Cerebro chamber. From there he began the silent work of creating files for the mysterious Network mutants he had met. Alongside that, he had to update Magneto's file. Just what was his old friend up to?

* * *

><p>Luke heard the jarring sound of his alarm clock long before he could open his eyes to greet the morning. Even when he did, he was greeted with darkness quite uncommon for six in the morning. Normally the sun would be peaking in through his window by now. Maybe it was stormy out today? Luke rolled out of bed and proceeded to get ready, yawning every other 5 minutes, a testament to how little time he had to sleep after staying up talking with Xavier.<p>

He made his way down to the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar out of the pantry, shoveling it down along with his pre-morning can of Dr. Pepper. Glancing around, he took note of how empty the kitchen was. Normally, there would be a little more activity going on. No one ate an actual breakfast until after the morning DR session. But everyone would meet down here and talk, eat a snack, and then trudge off to meet their doom together. It was the beautiful thing about teamwork and comradeship that the students had. Where were they now?

"You seem to be fairly awake for only having 3 hours worth of sleep. I may just make this your personal schedule from now on."

Closing the refrigerator door slowly and pretending he hadn't jumped at the sudden voice, Luke turned to see the ever bright and cheery face of Logan.

"What're you talking about? And where is everybody else? It's almost time for training, right?"

"Oh, it's time for training all right. Just not for everyone else. It's 4:30 in the morning, bub. And we've got until 6:30 to whip you in shape."

"For what? Are you saying that I've been getting fat, because I promise you that I've always had this gut."

Patting his belly for added measure, Luke began batting his eyes and put on his pout face. Logan just palmed his face and ordered Luke to report to the Danger Room. As the man turned to leave, Luke shouted, "That would've worked if I was Kitty!"

The man grunted and kept walking. Once Luke was completely sure that the Canadian was out of earshot, he muttered "Or if I was Storm."

Danger Room

The room had already been set when Luke arrived. Thanks to its astounding technology, it looked like a perfect dojo/gym environment. There were human-shaped targets, a few punching bags, weights, an empty space for sparring, and even a skeet launcher from the looks of it. Logan was standing in the middle of the sparring area, waiting with his arms crossed.

"Took your time getting here. Now hustle. We have a lot of work to do to get you whipped into shape. I've been making a few observations on you and how your powers work, so Charles has finally given me the green light to go ahead with my test. We're going to see just how much force you can generate with your powers."

With that, he walked over to the punching bag and gestured for Luke to do the same. "This here punching bag is going to record the force behind each hit you give it. So I want to see how big of a difference there is in using your physical strength and your pushes. Use your right arm first, then left, then do the same with your legs."

Luke nodded his heads at the orders, waiting until Logan had made it up to the control room before starting. A simple right forward punch connected with the bag, barely making it budge. Embarrassed, Luke took a step back and built up his strength before punching again, hitting the air. The bag made a much more noticeable budge, swaying like a pendulum for a few moments. His left side gave similar results, if a little weaker due to it being his recessive side. His legs were more inspiring, as his leg powered push gave a much large sway on the punching bag. When Luke finished, Logan had already returned back down to the main floor, looking satisfied.

"As I figured, your powers only allow you a certain boost of your own physical strength. That boost is determined in part by how much effort you use, or the amount of muscle tissue you shred. Your powers also have the benefit of being able to push in any direction you will it to. When you hit the punching bag with your fist, the force only spread from that one point of contact. With your push, the force spread from a much bigger point of contact. This generated more force being transferred, thus the bigger swings. With the right points of contact, you could move just about anything within human capabilities. But there is one more thing that I got out of this test. Your powers augment your own physical strength and direct the force generated by that strength outwards, as you will it to. So if your physical strength increases, so does your powers."

Hearing Wolverine of all people explain all of that was confusing enough. What he was actually saying was even more confusing to Luke.

"So you're saying that if I push from the right spots, I can push things better and that my actual strength is connected to the strength of my powers? I already knew all of that, pretty much. So what's the big deal?"

The man just grinned and grabbed Luke's shoulder, steering him over to the weights and exercise equipments.

"This will be your life before and after school for the next month or so. Since you can't be trusted to simply stay unoccupied when grounded and we can't let you wander around unattended without you getting in trouble, the Professor and I have decided to start you on a light workout and see how the results turn out. So enjoy."

Luke was then left to start exercising on the equipment, having his own pick of what he wanted to do first. Deciding to keep things simple, he took his position on a weight bench beneath a bar. He didn't bother to put any weights on either side of it, as he could make the bar his own custom weight. From there he did what he thought was right and began to push the bar up and away from his chest, before retracting and easing it back down. It wasn't like he could exercise wrong, right?

Continuing his exercise in rhythm, he complained aloud, hoping to catch Logan's ear. "You know, you could've at least let me grab some headphones or something if this is what I'm going to be doing. Or you could hook me up with a TV screen down here. Anything. This is gonna get boring real quick."

"Listening to you complain gets boring real quick too. So quit yapping or I'll go down there and give you some real motivation."

Luke chuckled at Logan's surliness. Then he focused his mind back on the effort at hand.

'_This had better work. If my powers aren't any stronger by the end of the month, I'm going to paint Logan's motorcycle pink and put itching powder all in his suits. At least I'll be in better shape for the ladies.'_

* * *

><p>"Wolverine, what's Luke already doing down there this morning? And why is he playing around on that exercise equipment?"<p>

Scott, the first to arrive at the Danger room for morning training, stood behind the glass looking down over the infamous room. Logan was standing by the computer console that controlled the room's setting, fiddling with certain knobs and buttons.

"He's here on special training. We're working on seeing just how strong he is and how strong he's gonna get. Don't worry, He's still gonna be playing with you guys for morning sessions."

"It's hardly playing. But why isn't he using more weight on that machine? I know he's scrawny, but only one bar is kinda weak."

Logan snorted before replying "You're talking about the one guy on your team who steamrolled over you and Jean at the same time. And did you forget he could add weight to anything that he touches? I've been thinking about letting him add weights to the uniforms."

Scott stayed silent after that, still a tad bitter over Luke's 'win'. It had been a bad underestimation on his and Jean's part. Obviously, Luke's powers were on a tier above his own and Jean shouldn't have played nice with him.

"He couldn't do it again, you know."

"I know. He knows. But are you really sure? Summers, if you let losing one time rattle you so bad then maybe you should be down there with him."

"Doing what? My eyes don't get any stronger than this. I can crack boulders for crying out loud. But he just walked through it all. How are you supposed to fight a mutant like that?"

"Be smart. I have to be 5 feet from a person to be a serious threat with these claws, but I don't let that stop me. Use your powers and environment creatively. Now quit complaining and get down there to lead. The rest of the students are here."

Scott headed down while the Wolverine altered his Danger room into the morning session. Grinning wildly, he used the intercom system while the Danger Room floor opened up. "I hope you guys are real strong swimmers."

* * *

><p>The first bell had already rang as students began piling inside the school's main building and headed to class. Some were bright and fresh, eager to face the day. Others were not so lucky and were still sleepy and tired. Luke departed from his small group of friends he normally hung out with during the time before school and headed off to class, dragging behind due to his tired state.<p>

'_Logan and his big ideas. I understand that he doesn't get many of them, but why do I have to be his guinea pig for each one? Weighted clothes. Not very original, but I guess it'll work.'_

Wolverine had pulled Luke aside after the morning session, which was a supposed simulation of a very dangerous river guarded by an army of turrets and robotic claw arms, and told him to weigh down his clothes with a few ounces of extra weight to help with his strength training. Normally, he would simply lie about it and not do anything of the sort. But his conscious was telling him to do it, if only for the fact that it _would_ make him stronger.

Making it to class just as the bell rang and slumping down in his seat, Luke's head already had hit the desk before he noticed two things. Amanda was not in her desk. Some stranger covered from head to toe by clothing was. There was not an inch of skin showing on this person at all. Sunglasses and a scarf covered the face and ear, a high-collared sweater covered the torso, black gloves covered the hands, and then pants and shoes covered the person's lower half. The person was unidentifiable except for the hair. Blonde hair. Wait a second!

"Crystal? Is that you? What the hell are you doing wearing all that in the middle of September? It's still like 80 degrees outside; you'll suffocate wearing all of that stuff."

It was still indeed hot in Bayville, although it was time for things to cool off. But the more important problem was _why_ Amanda was wearing something so ridiculous. It was something Luke was going to get to the bottom about.

Crystal, however, was not going to answer. She wasn't even going to respond at all to Luke talking. Was she pouting or sulking over something he did? Was she mad?

"What's up with the cold shoulder? Come on, I didn't do anything! What could possibly have happened so you can't talk to me and you having to dress like that?"

Still no answer. Before Luke could barrage the girl with questions again, a shadow descended over the two. Mrs. Barnes had had enough of these two students disrupting her class and she was going to put a stop to it.

"I hate to interrupt this conversation that is obviously more important than anything the class could be talking about, but I'm going to ask you two to take your discussion elsewhere if you refuse to stay quiet."

"Alright, we'll be back in five."

Grabbing the still silent girl's wrist, he tugged her out of her seat and dragging her out into the hallway, shutting the door firmly behind him. The girl slouched against the wall and remained silent, starring at the floor.

"Seriously? What the hell has gotten into you? You're dressed all funny, you won't say anything to me. What's up?"

Still nothing. Grabbing her wrist to jerk her a little bit trying to evoke a reaction, Luke noticed something.

"You're not wearing the watch disguiser thing. What happened to it? Did you break it or something because I can go get you another one?"

"Why are you trying to be a friend to me?"

Finally she spoke. But that question was out of the blue.

"I dunno. You were nice enough to me on the first day. You didn't get mad when I cracked jokes. You've driven me around twice without really knowing me. It seems fair to be nice to someone who was nice to me."

"I could've killed you! You could've died because of that doctor woman and it would've been my fault! I trapped you inside a rock and left you in a room with a crazy woman with a scalpel. And I did it all because I was told to. Why would you want to be friends with someone like that?"

"You didn't know most of that stuff would happen till after it happened. You didn't know what Dr. Gage was gonna do. And I'm fine. Look at me; I'm the perfect bill of health. You didn't put me in danger or risked my life. _I_ put me in danger and risked my life. You work for Mystique and I'm Xavier's student. Whatever we do to each other as X-men and Brotherhood shouldn't affect us as Luke and Amanda. Or at least I don't think it should."

The girl was left dumbfounded. Was he really serious about this?

"You're crazy."

"Yeah, but it's the sexy kind. Can't you tell?"

He was joking with her. He really was serious.

She faked a wheeze and smiled cheekily back at him, saying, "I think there's too much bullcrap in the air, I can't breathe! Did you just say something about being sexy? That's the last thing anyone would ever use to describe you. You'll never get a girl like you are now."

"Coming from someone who practically invited me to her house while she was wearing nothing but a nightgown and had me sneak in through a window, I'm pretty sure that I don't have girl problems. Especially since you're older than I am. I'm also pretty sure that it does say a little bit more about you."

"That was Mystique's plan, not mine! I was asleep, so how was I supposed to know?"

"The fact that your face is redder than a stop sign is a pretty good indication to the contrary."

And man was her face red. Luke had seen tomatoes with less color than that. But he was pretty sure the cause for said redness was more to do with her anger than embarrassment.

Shoving the dolt on the shoulder, Crystal stomped back into class and sat back down, back to her normal self. Luke followed soon after, a grin etched on his face. Mission accomplished. Digging through his pockets, Luke pulled out a small rubber sphere, like the ones kids bounce around like crazy. He began rolling it back and forth across his desk in between his two hands with his powers, using the twitches of a finger. To the common observer, it would look like he was using his finger to roll the ball.

He would play this game against himself to see if one hand could get the ball past the other hand before it caught the ball and sent it back. It was frivolous, but it killed time. Back and forth the ball went, neither winning nor losing in the silly game. Eventually, Luke's timing slipped and both fingers twitched, compelling his gravitational pushes to act at the same time. The ball was caught directly in the middle and erupted in a loud pop. Startled, Luke barely had time to tuck the remains of the ball away in his pocket before Mrs. Barnes came storming back to his desk and demanded an answer.

"She popped her gum really really loud."

A thumb gesture pointing to Amanda was met in kind with a middle finger that was quickly tucked away when Ms, Barnes' head swiveled. She glared at the two, and then returned to her chalkboard. Amanda ducked her head over and whispered, "What was that? What did you do?"

Luke whispered back "I don't know. But when I get home to the Danger Room, I'm gonna find out."

Amanda nodded, filling in the blank that the Danger Room was probably where the X-dorks trained. Then the two settled their heads down and drifted off into a snooze and their teacher droned on.

* * *

><p>"So how come me and Kurt don't get to go do recruiting missions? Heck, why weren't we even told that you were bringing a new kid in? He's been here all night and we haven't even met. How can I make him feel all warm and welcome here if I can't talk with him and show him how things are done around here?"<p>

A snort from across the table by Logan interjected "The day we let you show the newbie's how to do things is the day I eat my boot. You don't even know how to do things yourself. You're like our damsel in distress waiting in the wings. Our bait, even."

"Oh, shut up, Butch. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a Butch? Besides, I'm more than qualified to at least show him what _not_ to do, like replace sunglasses or hide watches. And it would be cool. I've always wanted an accomplice in crime or whatever. This kid's got jail time, so he's already got the proper credentials to fit the bill."

"He was framed, Luke. And I don't want to even think I heard of you polluting Evan's mind about how we do things here. He needs to take this seriously." Storm warned Luke from her end of the table by Charles.

"Yeah, yeah, Mrs. Ororo. I know. And out of the six times I've been in jail, at least two of them were framed. But as long as it's on his record and the word gets out, he's got all the street cred he needs to fill the side-kick roster."

"Wait, you've been in jail? Like, on your record and everything? Wow, like for what?" Kitty questioned, swirling her cereal with her spoon.

"Oh, you know. Stuff. Nothing bad. And the bail was never too big. The longest I ever stayed was that night I was 'mistaken' for someone else and had to spend the night with Mississippi's finest while they ran fingerprints. After 8 hours of listening to a 6'7 convict sing one country song over and over again, I left early. They still have a warrant for my arrest in Lee County, or whatever they call things like that nowadays. You'd think they would drop it since I'm innocent."

Kitty was dying to ask more questions and Kurt was jumping out of his seat to ask why he couldn't be considered the side-kick/accomplice, but the two quieted down to hear Xavier and Logan talk about Evan and his probable desire for revenge. Breakfast ended soon afterwards and Scott was burdened with putting Evan on the basketball team. One less thing for Luke not to worry about. But this whole revenge thing… Maybe he needed to listen up at the breakfast table more often to get the full story.

Finishing his food and getting ready for school, Luke grabbed his bike out of the garage and sped off, planning to show Amanda just what he had figured out last night. He'd already thought it out and brought three more of those rubber balls to use as examples. The only hard part would be finding her. Parking his bike in one of the few bike racks the school had, he turned and walked to the main grounds, which were littered with kids milling about.

'_This place is packed even before school. Don't they have better things to do before school, like watching cartoons?'_

The girl he was looking for wasn't in any of her normal spots and by the time Luke had looked through them all, the bell had rung for class to start. The teen got there early and took his seat in the back of class, waiting on his friend to show up. She did, wearing normal clothes and her watch this time, and sat next to him silently.

"So? Come on, you know you want to ask. I figured it out last night after Logan tried to chew my head off for slacking off. It's pretty cool."

"What? Huh, oh yeah! You popped that ball yesterday. Whoop dee doo."

Luke fixed her a mild glare and turned to face her directly. "Sarcasm is only appreciated around here when I'm using it. No one else. What's got you all bugged this morning you won't let me tell my story in a good mood?"

"Mystique's got this new guy she wants to bring in. It's got nothing to do with us, but she made us wait forever outside her office."

"Sorry. Get over it and get happy with me."

Wow. Not only was that last statement harsh, it also sounded completely dirty. And from the look on the girl beside him was giving, she knew it too. Good thing the two of them both knew the other was just joking with most of what they said.

"So what did you figure out in the Danger Room WonderBoy? Did you learn how to tie your shoes?"

"I learned how to leave the seat up, then weigh it down with an extra hundred pounds so the girls can't move it in our mansion. You can talk with them about what that's like, since the Brotherhood house bathroom doesn't even flush, let alone have a seat."

"I live with my dad. Me and Mystique got that cleared up from day one. I cannot live with scummy people in a run down shack like that. Rouge might be able to handle it, but I can't. So what did you really figure out before I get disinterested even more?"

Acting out his fake mortification dramatically, Luke hurried on saying "Well since I'm boring you, I'll just spit it out. I busted my balls yesterday."

Before a word could be said about what Luke had just said, the teen grabbed one from his pocket, placed it on his desk, and put his hands in position on each side of it.

"When I use my powers to push the ball, the force I generate is expelled and moves the air, which moves the ball. But when the two forces compete against each other, the air has no way to escape. Thus, it's pressurized and collapses the ball that's trapped in there with it. So, in other words, I figured out how to make things collapse in on themselves. Then I started thinking about it, and I reversed the process. I pulled at the ball from opposite directions. When the two forces were pulling on it, they were of equal strength so the ball couldn't be attracted to one more than the other. Thus, it pulled apart violently, so now I know how to make things explode too."

Rather than be impressed, the now secretly jealous girl simply took the ball out of Luke's palm, closed her fist, then opened it back up, revealing a shattered ball.

"You wasted all that time saying all of that when I can do the same thing. How it happens doesn't matter to me. As long as it's doable, that's what matters."

"So you can break your own crystals? Do you make some weaker than others or do they all do that when you touch them?"

Great. Now he was curious. She wasn't some show and tell project and if he kept talking louder and louder he was going to attract attention. He was so stupid when he got excited.

"Calm down, you look like you're about to wet your pants. And is that drool? I break these crystals because I want them broken. That's all I can really say about it. I want it to happen, put my hands on it, and it happens. So go figure that out in your so-called Danger Room. Sounds lame if you ask me. If all you do in there is play around, then I don't see how it got that name."

Luke dimmed at the slurry of insults he just received. Turning back and placing his face in the crook of his elbow for his customary nap, he mumbled something barely audible to his neighbor student "You're just as grouchy and crabby as Mystique. Maybe you are actually learning from her after all."

Amanda stared at the back of Luke's head in shock. Did he really think she was being bitchy? Sure, she had ragged on him and his training room, but still. Comparing her to Mystique was its own level of insult. He knew she was in a bad mood and tried to cheer her up with his own enthusiasm, but she just shot him down. Now he was in a pissy mood and she felt worse because of it. And he had been willing to stick it out and be friends with her in the first place, if yesterday was true.

'_I'm a terrible friend to him. I gotta make it up to him somehow. But how?'_

Watching the back of his head and the steady rise and fall of his breathing, the mutant girl was inspired. She would need some help from her team, but it would be perfect. He'd love it. Grinning, the girl looked up and saw the rest of the class listening to the teacher's lecture. Her grin dropped and she herself settled her head down. She still had school to deal with.

* * *

><p>Luke had made it home in record time after school, eager to head to the danger room. His bad mood from the morning had only increased due to annoyances at school, so he was ready to vent on something. The angry teen headed to the kitchen, looking to grab a drink before he went to work out, only to find a man in a wheelchair waiting for him instead of a Dr. Pepper.<p>

"I'm afraid that Evan has got the Danger Room occupied for the day. Logan will reschedule your session for some other time. You've got today off. Take a break and let your body rest. Or, if you're up for it, I can drag Storm out of the observation chamber and give her the thumbs up on your flying lessons."

Angry as Luke was, he still knew that learning something new would not be very positive in his current state.

"Nah, I'll pass on that. I'll just do my own stuff for today. See you later, Professor."

Leaving the kitchen and the bald man behind, Luke headed back outside, digging one of the rubber balls out of his pocket. Walking to garage, Luke shut the door to it from the outside and took a few steps back on the driveway. Cocking his arm back, he pitched the ball to land as close as it could in the right angle that the door created on the ground. The ball bounced off and went sky high, well over the mansion's roof.

Luke opened his palm up and pulled the ball back with his powers. He was playing a game he made when he had first started living on his own. It was once his favorite pastime, but now it was just making him madder and madder. With each throw the ball got consistently higher and harder to pull back, it got to the point where Luke would lose sight of the ball in the setting sunlight and would simply pull on a massive amount of space just to catch the ball.

Winding up for a throw, Luke stopped when he saw the garage door open up. Scott's car slipped out from its parking spot and onto the drive. Luke stepped out of the way just in time as Scott drove by. The new kid was with him, as well as Jean.

Sighing and rubbing his head, Luke shrugged and went inside to find Kitty or Kurt. He needed someone to talk to now. That and a therapist for his arm. He found the two mutants in the kitchen, conversing about the sudden basketball game that Evan was playing in.

"That explains why Scott nearly ran me over on the drive. Who're they playing against?"

"Evan's old school, I think. Pretty weird since they aren't on our schedule."

"Yeah. And Evan just joined the team today too. Now he's gotta play his old team. That's gonna be harsh on him, all his old teammates playing against him and all. That's all one big coincidence, I guess. So what does he do, anyways? I haven't seen his powers in action yet."

"Wolverine calls him Spyke because he grows these weird bone shards from his skin and he can shoot them out. He's already getting good at shooting them."

Luke nodded, before digging through the pantries for super. "So how come he got a name right off the bat? I've been waiting forever now on my codename. You guys all got yours quick too. How come I'm the only one that's getting hazed like this?"

Kitty stopped what she was doing at her seat and thought about it for a moment. "You know, you've got weird powers compared to the rest of us. There isn't really much you can't do, so that makes it hard to pin your powers down and name them. It's like Jean. She can do just about anything, so she doesn't have a codename. Or at least, I've never heard it."

"I guess. I just want a codename. It'd be so freakin' cool. I feel left out a little."

"Well don't worry about that, bub. You and me are fixin' to make up that time you missed earlier. I'd hate for you to feel 'left out'."

Wolverine had arrived, still in his uniform from his earlier supervision of Evan's session. The man plucked Luke from his seat and began hauling him away. The teen in mention began to squirm and try to free himself.

"Can this wait a few more minutes? I got food cookin' in the microwave! I haven't eaten in hours! Come on! You're just mad because I ate the last sausage link this morning, but it's not my fault! You're just to slow with those butter knives of yours!"

Kitty and Kurt laughed at their friend's upcoming torture, partially because of how he was adding on to it with his mouth. The two finished up meals of their own and were about to go their separate ways to their rooms, until Kurt stopped Kitty.

"Do you trust him?"

"Who, Luke? Well, yeah, I guess. He's been pretty open with us and friendly. It's kinda weird. We don't know a thing about him, but he always tries to be nice to us and talk to us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. He hasn't said a word about where he comes from or his family, but he talks about being a mutant for hire as if it's nothing. I just feel like I should know him more by now."

"It's like Wolverine. We don't know him at all, but we still trust him with our lives. Don't worry too much about it Kurt. We'll figure him out eventually."

Kurt smiled and waved his tail good night, vanishing from sight inside a cloud of sulfur. Kitty rolled her eyes and went to bed herself, ignorant of the man who had just heard their conversation.

Xavier rolled into the room his two X-men had vacated. It seemed that even his teams had questions about Luke and whether or not he was a genuine part of the team. There was just something about how mysterious he still was to the rest of them. And if his team couldn't trust him fully, then how could he be an X-man?

* * *

><p>AN: So yeah, all I can really fit from Spyke's episode is the breakfast table. Nothing much else I could do, with Luke being grounded and not one of Xavier's recruiters. Sorry bout that. I did like the episode, though. Pietro was given the proper emphasis and power that makes him a proper threat. He flipped cars just by running by them, so that's pretty cool. I think I may do a Brotherhood chapter here pretty soon, from Terrence and Amanda's views, simply because I love my OCs and I feel like I haven't given them any real fleshing out. Chapter Title came from that song off of Toy Story. You all know it. Anywho, I'm gonna bid you guys a happy whatever and go get some sleep. Big Willis, out.<p> 


	11. The Middle

AN: Morning folks. I say morning because most of the writing I do is after 12 and before 3 in the morning. Originally, I was gonna skip over the Middleverse episode since it's so Kurt oriented and just do the Brotherhood. But I'm putting that one more chapter back. I hope to get Luke more involved in the X-men team dynamics, so this chapter should help with that. And maybe I didn't make a big deal about it in my other chapters, but I sure as hell tried to remind everyone with all the mentions last chapter, but Luke needs a codename. I set up the poll a while back. Only one vote so far. Come on guys!

Chapter 11

The Middle

Days had passed since Evan's arrival at the mansion, with the bleach blonde haired boy settling in nicely. The X-men had welcomed him to their fold warmly and continued to do so at their lunch table. Everyone had gathered around during their lunch break, mostly to hear Scott's decision as team leader on the most important topic in school. Duncan Mathew's party. Evan scooped up the unopened milk cartons lying on the table while Jean flipped here hair over her shoulder and batted her eyes, dropping all the subtleties that girls drop when they want something from a guy.

"So what do you say, Scott?"

"No, I don't think so. That guys a jerk anyways." Apparently the senior didn't pick up on those subtleties. That, or he had something equivalent to an Omega class mutation that allowed him to resist the allures of girls.

Kitty piped up from her end of the table sitting between Jean and Luke, "He is not a jerk. I would totally go to his party."

"No freshman allowed." Luke said glumly beside her, his face downcast. Even if he hated Duncan, a party was a party and it was an excuse not to run more sessions with Logan.

"He is a jerk. Never mind."

"And what if someone got too close to Kurt? The holowatch doesn't stop people from feeling his fur." Scott pitched in, trying to drive home points on why they shouldn't party.

"Chicks dig the fuzzy dude!" It was perfect synchronization between Luke and Kurt, followed by a high-five. Kurt then raised his eyebrows and leaned across the table at Kitty. "Right?"

"I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." With that, the brunette walked off, giving Kurt a cold shoulder.

"Yikes man. You're gonna have to step up your game if she's acting like that to you." Luke nudged his favorite teammate on the shoulder.

"I'm trying to be serious here guys." Scott said, pushing up on his sunglasses.

"Must be real hard for someone who does it all the time. When aren't you serious? I didn't think you had that switch on you, Mr. Robot." Everyone else chuckled at the table while Scott just glared at Luke. "If we go to Mathew's party, then what if Dukes or Maximoff start something. It's not like we're the only mutants in town. And the last time some of us went partying, you got kidnapped."

"That wasn't my fault. I had money on my head and a conniving shape shifter trying to collect. And it's not like every party has to go horribly wrong. Plus, I wouldn't go. No freshmen."

"That's not the point. It's just too risky for us to go."

"It's just a party, dude, not a meeting with the President. We need to go and shake that tail! Whoohoo!" Kurt was now on the table, giving everyone a display of just how terrible his dancing was. Not that Luke would judge, because he couldn't dance either.

Everyone at the table noticed when Kurt's tail came out from hiding due to his wild dancing, causing Scott to jerk him down into a seat before anyone else noticed. by said exposed appendage.

"Dude, don't pull my tail. What's wrong with you?" Kurt said accusingly, looking more than a little upset. His tail was a very personal part of his body.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. Grow up Kurt and quit goofing around so much."

"Lighten up man. You're really killing my style!"

"Listen up-"

"No, you listen. There's a sound I want you to here and it's…" **Bamf**. Kurt was gone in his signature puff of smoke. Everyone at the table tried to play it off when everyone else turned to look. As soon as the heat died down, Luke turned to Scott and said "I'll clean up your mess this time, Summers. I'm gonna go find Kurt before he wrecks something. But the next time you want to go dictator, make sure that you do it over something important. You'll lose fewer friends that way."

Leaving the table, Luke began walking towards the trees that outlined the school. Surely if Kurt had any sense in his head, he wouldn't port near populated places. Luke trotted off rounding a few of the buildings and hitting the tree lines, looking every which way for his disguised teammate. Instead, he saw Rouge heading towards one of the old labs around the back of the school. Weird.

'_Why would anyone go back there? There's nothing there. Kurt must've known that and ported there and she heard him.'_

Luke began to ease forward, moving slowly and remaining undetected. He wasn't going to get involved with Rouge in any way, shape, fashion, or form. She freaked him out. And her powers were way scary too. He would just wait until she came out, and then go check on his buddy. Minimal exposure. Kurt didn't mind her that much, after all. Let him deal with her.

That was Luke's plan until he heard an explosion coming out of the underground lab in front of him.

"What the hell?" Luke questioned, peering down at the open door. He heard voices and recognized both Kurt's and Rouge's. If Kurt was fine enough to talk, then Luke wasn't risking going down there to find out what happened. A few minutes passed by and finally, Rouge came out. She looked torn up about something, ready to cry even, but Luke wasn't gonna say anything to her. She was a girl, a teenage one at that. Tears were usually involved. The more important thing was the funny little device in her hands.

_What is that? The way she's carrying it, you'd think it just killed someone. Oh crap! Where's Kurt?'_

Rushing into the still smoky underground lab, Luke began to fan out the room with his gravitational pushes, rubbing his now sore arms while he scanned the room. "Kurt? Kurt, are you in here, man? Come on out, we gotta get to class. Or if we're gonna skip, let's go hit up a burger joint or something."

Nothing. The place was empty. Maybe Nightcrawler teleported somewhere else? But what was Rouge doing and what about that explosion? This place reeked of Kurt's involvement, both figuratively and literally. And man did sulfur stink.

Heading outside, he heard the bell rang and decided to go to class. Kurt would pop back up sometime soon enough, right? He wasn't the type to go AWOL without reason.

Sadly, when Luke roamed the halls after his class was over, he didn't see hide nor hair of Kurt Wagner. The guy had vanished off of the school grounds. Maybe he had gone back to the mansion or something? Luke found Scott and Jean, who apparently were looking for Kurt too.

"I haven't seen Kurt anywhere. Can't you find him Jean?" Luke questioned the female telepath, hoping for a good answer. Now he was worried about the blue guy.

"No, I can't sense him anywhere."

"Try again." Scott didn't sound like a jerk at all when he gave that order.

"I am. It's like he doesn't exist."

"Or someone's done something to him." Turning to follow Scott's gaze, Luke saw Lance, Terrence, and Fred coming down the hallway. Before Luke could get a grip on what was happening, Scott had already run forward and grabbed Lance by the collar and shoved him against the locker.

"Where's Kurt?" Scott had continued his notorious streak of giving out orders and demands, even to the Brotherhood goons. Swell.

Fed reached over and grabbed Scott's shoulder, but Luke sprang forward and knocked the unprepared Blob back a few steps. Luke squared up and began to think about how to take the big guy down when he suddenly found himself in a master lock hold. Terrence had gotten behind him and was now leaving him quite open to an angry Blob fist.

A crowd of students had gathered at this point chanting fight, so Luke couldn't use his powers to stop it. Thinking fast, Luke tucked his foot behind Terrence's and fell backwards, weighing himself down as best he could while falling. The two hit the ground, Terrence letting out an audible wheeze as the air left him. Fred had missed his punch entirely and stumbled into the locker, caving it in. Luke used the time he to turn and pin Springload, ready to start nailing him in the face a few times, only for an iron grip to wrap around his wrist, ready to snap it.

"What is going on here?" Principle Darkholme had arrived.

Terrence pushed Luke off of him roughly before getting up and dusting off his shoes. Lance piped up and started complaining "Summers and Hensley went ballistic. We weren't doin' nothing and they just attacked us!"

Jerking Luke around by his arm, she icily ordered "To my office. Now!" Then she let him go and stormed off.

Luke rubbed his wrist before turning back to his fellow X-men. Wordlessly, they all walked off and followed Principle Darkholme while the Brotherhood jeered.

While they were walking, Scott caught Luke by the shoulder and pulled him back a little, muttering "Thanks for trying to help me out there."

Luke just grinned back and said "I got your back man. No way I could let you get jumped three to one. Plus, we've still gotta find Kurt, so we might as well work together. Teamwork and all that."

When the three Xavier students arrived at the office, the principle was just turning the door and opening it for them all to go inside. The room was for some reason empty of all furniture and the window was open. Principle Darkholme started to freak immediately and ran off, cursing away under her breath. The three just looked around at the empty room and then checked out the window. Toad was in the parking lot with the same thing Rouge had in her hands earlier. Then, all of a sudden a red beam shot out from it and swallowed up a car from the lot, vanishing without a trace. The mutants shared a look as Cyclops said "Bet I know what happened to Kurt."

The three turned to leave the room, only to see a faint image of Kurt leap across the room in front of them. Then the image faded out of sight, like a ghost.

"Was that? That was Kurt but what was going on? I could see through him or something." Luke asked, hoping the more experienced X-men would know what was going on.

"I got a brief mental reading on him. It's like he's trapped somewhere."

Scott turned and looked back out the window at Toad hopping off. "I think we need to have a little talk with the Toad."

"Definitely."

* * *

><p>The team had been rounded up, minus Kurt and they were all chasing Toad, who still had the zapping gizmo from earlier. The little runt was faster jumping around like a frog then they were running. Cyclops was in the lead and fired a beam that landed close to Toad's foot. In response, Toad hopped backwards and fired the beam at the X-men chasing him.<p>

"Shadowcat, down!" Jean ordered as she and Luke ducked out of the way. They knew what that thing could do. Kitty heard the warning and phased through the ground, causing the beam to hit a bird bath instead, vanishing it as well.

"I would just trip him up, but that thing could go off again. Why does this slime ball have to be so quick?" Luke questioned between pants. Eventually, they hounded Toad up a tree, where he sat on a high branch and clutched on to his weapon. He opened his mouth to make a threat, only for Scott to blast the branch he was sitting on and leave him to fall to the hard ground. Jean caught the machine out of the air with her mind, lowering it gently to her hands.

Todd began to see how things were turning out for him, so he decided to scram, only for Spike to pin him to the tree with a few spikes. Scott crouched down beside him and held his hand on the button for his visor.

"Tell us what you did to Kurt."

The little guy began to squirm, pleading "I didn't do anything, I swear."

"He didn't do it. I did. And if you want to find you're blue guy, you better let him go."

Rouge made her demand while leaned up on a tree. Luke put his foot forward, stepping up and getting angry.

"Who do you think you are making demands of us? You're gonna tell us what you did to Kurt or I will personally drag it out of you myself, regardless of how you or anyone else feels about it."

Scott put his hand on Luke's shoulder and reigned him back in. "I know you're mad, but you've got to calm down. We need her help and making her mad won't get us anywhere. We'll just let Toad go, he doesn't matter anymore anyways."

Luke sighed and shoved his hands in the uniform's pockets. "Fine. But if we don't like what she shows us, can I crack her head a little?"

Normally, Luke would've been jumping over bridges to get away from Rouge. But she was holding them back from getting Kurt, who was locked away in some dimension by that stupid machine. He was worried for the blue guy. What if that dimension was full of scary monsters, or there were non-stop lectures from Mrs. Barnes? The horror his friend could be going through was killing Luke inside. Then again, Kurt could be trapped in a dimension full of girls in bikinis.

Rouge didn't remark any after Luke's challenge, but she stayed away from him while she led the X-men to the underground lab that Luke had seen earlier. Rouge stopped and gestured to the room.

"This is where it happened."

"If you've hurt him, I'm gonna…" Scott warned, standing at full height in order to intimidate the power-stealing mutant

"You start threatening me, and you'll never get him back."

"If you don't bring him back, I'll do more than threaten you, sister. I will break every damn bone in your body starting from your toes and going up. It starts to hurt a little around the third rib, but we'll see if you can handle it." Again, Luke was mad when he said this. The girl, regardless of how potentially powerful, was holding them back from helping Kurt and it was irritating. He had the tendency to get snappy when he got concerned about something and someone had to muck it all up.

"I don't know how to bring him back. But if you touch me, it'll be the last thing you do."

"I don't have to touch you to hurt you. Remember that."

Jean stepped in and tried to calm everyone down, but that wasn't gonna happen. Luckily Kitty and Spyke startled talking about the little machine thing, telling about pulses and how it was keeping Nightcrawler in another dimension. It was all gibberish to Luke, but he got the idea.

"So if we break that thing, the pulses stop and Kurt can come back, right?"

"Let's trash this thing." Scott placed the machine on a table and took a few steps back, ready to unleash his red beams on the hunk of junk. For some reason, Rouge was still around watching what happened. Kitty made the suggestion of her shorting it out quietly, making all of the guys stop and look at her.

"Are you serious? Scott's just gonna toast that sucker and be done with it. No sense in putting you at risk if it explodes with more dimension pulse things, right?" Luke tried to play it off, but the girls could still tell he was just eager to see the thing blow up.

"Should've known better than to try and talk guys out of blowing something up."

The guys shrugged off the weak insult and Scott focused back on the machine, ready to nuke it. Just as he was going to fire, Kurt appeared in a burst of light and shouted "Reset, don't de…" before fading back out into nothing.

Scott turned to his team and asked "You guys all saw that right?"

Everyone nodded and then began to discus what he said. Evan said some backwards thing about "Don't reset, he wants you to blow it up."

Luke slapped the back of Evan's head lightly. "Why would he port to us and say that if he wanted us to destroy it? We were going to destroy it, so why would he port and tell us to if we already were? He was warning us not to destroy it and he wants us to reset it. And we should try it anyways too before the thing gets wrecked." The team agreed, leaving Scott to fiddle with the buttons. Cyclops poked one and set the machine down. It started to rattle on the table and shot out a yellow beam in an orb shape that blinded everyone in the room. Nightcrawler and some other person emerged from the light, but were still trapped inside of the energy bubble.

"Port out of there, Kurt. Come on!" Luke hollered over the projector machine. The man beside Kurt answered "We can't. The batteries are fried, we need more juice."

Kurt then said something and the two vanished once again.

"What're they doing?" Evan asked, obviously confused.

"I don't know, but they better hustle." Scott said worriedly.

"There they are." The X-men turned around to see the Brotherhood in their combat gear all piling into the room. Toad muttered something about his 'vapor ray' under his breath while the others spread out and tried to look menacing. Lance called out to the odd woman out, Rouge and said "Mystique sent us looking for you. So are you with us, or them?"

Rouge looked between the two groups of mutants and walked away. "I don't care what you guys do. This ain't my fight. Just make sure you teach that loud-mouth over there some manners." She was, of course, looking at Luke when she said this. After she left, Blob decided to discuss peace treaty.

"Fork over the ray thing, losers!"

"Or this place is gonna rock!" Lance finished for him, stomping his foot down and shaking the room.

Luke stepped up, ready to fight. "That's the best thing you can come up with Rocky? Maybe you should go home and think up more threatening line to scare us with. And while you're at it, give your goldfish his bowl back."

Terrence slid out from behind the Blob and lined up across from Luke. "Leave the poor guy alone, Luke. He can't help it his IQ is lower than your age. But if you really want to throw down, well come get it. What happened in the hallway was a slip-up and you're going down this time."

"If I'm going down, I'll take lessons from your mom. She can teach me first hand."

Them were some fightin' words if anything was, and both teams jumped into action. The other X-men got in their own fights while Luke and Terrence circled each other, waiting for an opening. Luke got tired of waiting and ran in to deck Terrence across the face one time, only for the teen to bend over backwards in a sickening angle. Before Luke could draw his hand back from the failed attack, Terrence straightened up like a board and head butted Luke's fist, causing it to fold up and make a sickening crack. Luke hissed as his eyes started to tear up from the pain as his wrist figuratively lit on fire. Terrence was about throw his own punch, but Luke spun it aside, letting it graze his ear as he kicked out and hooked his foot behind Terrence's knee and drew it back, making Terrence's leg give way. Dropped to one knee on the concrete floor, Terrence looked up to catch a vicious elbow to the nose, followed by a second hit to the jaw.

Terrence wasn't done by any means, so he waited a moment while his muscle powers charged, and then doubled Luke over his fist as he buried it in his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. While Luke was gasping for breath doubled over, Terrence charged back his arm and chopped Luke in the back of the neck, making him hit the ground face first.

Adrenaline only dulled so much of the pain Luke felt from hitting the ground. Part of him just wanted to stay down there. But the other cried out for him to smear Terrence's head on the wall. Luke rolled out of the way of a stomp aimed for his back, lashing out with his foot and catching the back of Terrence's knee again, sending him to the ground. Luke looked around a saw a loose concrete slab from Avalanche's earlier power usage. He picked it up and began adding weight to it before breaking it over Terrence's head as he tried to get up. Terrence slumped over, out like a light, now sporting a cut on his forehead that was bleeding.

Luke turned from his downed adversary and saw the other Brotherhood goons regrouping and ready to start round 2. As they advanced, a bright light and the sound of Kurt's port filled the room before a car flew out of nowhere and crashed into Blob. The airbags deployed and the passengers looked fine. Blob was hardly bothered, but when they saw that Kurt was fine, the Brotherhood decided to bail. Toad scooped up Terrence and began to drag him out as best he could, before Blob picked him up and set him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. As they left, they muttered about how they would wipe the floor with them next time or something.

Kurt and the stranger got out of the car and started to tell what all had happened, making a great story out of it. It was night by the time they all got out of the lab and they started walking towards the vehicles of Luke's bike and Scott's car. Scott offered the strange guy a place at Xavier's because apparently he was a technopath mutant who had been trapped in 1978. Luke was still a little confused by the whole story. It was all so weird.

But the mutant, Forge, declined and said he was going home for his 20 year late curfew. Scott even offered to drive him, but the young looking old man declined, stating it was only a few blocks. Scott proved persistent with his sales pitch and gave Forge the mansions number for emergencies. The man laughed and waved them goodbye, leaving them all around Scott's car.

Luke got on his own bike and decided to drive himself on home, leaving his team in order to go find his bed. His hand was hurting and he certainly needed the rest. Maybe it would be healed up by morning.

Luke drove off hearing the others all laughing, so he guessed that Scott and Kurt had made up and were cool again. That was good. After today, it looked like Luke had gotten on Scott's good side too. Maybe he was winning his team around after all?

When Luke made it home, he immediately made for his room, but along the way, he felt the familiar sensation of someone using telepathy.

'_Luke? Could I get you to stop by my office? I would like to discuss some things with you.'_

'_Sure thing Professor.'_

Luke detoured off his path and made tracks for Xavier's office, hoping to get whatever needed to be done out of the way. He knocked on the study doors, but found them already open. Peering inside, he saw the instructors all waiting inside as well as the big man himself.

"Come in Luke. We've got some things to discuss before you go to bed. Recently, I've been doing a little digging with Cerebro and going through news files and I found a few things I want to bring to light. Do you remember hearing about that children's hospital in Guatemala that was burned down a few years back? How there were no casualties, but not a bit of medical information was saved? There are two more incidents like that that I've connected. There was also a rice paddy farm in Japan burned down and all the workers were released. These are all connected in the fact that every time this would happen, one person that was involved would go missing. Children from the hospitals vanished and one worker from the paddy farm disappeared. I have reason to believe that this is the work of this Network faction you spoke of that tries to free mutants from oppression."

Luke nodded his head, a curious look on his face. "Yeah, that sounds like them, but what about it? What's that matter to us?"

Xavier crossed his hands from behind his desk as he began to explain. "Mutant kind has already been discovered somewhat, mostly reigned in and kept in check by governments. They are trying to withhold this information in order to give us more time to prepare for the upheaval the news will bring. This Network and this faction in particular are the most active group of mutant kind. I've been asked to try and gather information on them to see what their intentions are. I was hoping to see if you could shed any more light on things or maybe help me connect a few more dots."

Luke frowned at the Professor's question and glanced at the two teachers who were standing there silently. "Nope. I didn't really get involved in the Network's programs or faction. I just did jobs. There are so many loonies in the Network it's safer to do things alone unless you can really trust the people you're around. But if I may Professor, who's doing the asking? Tell them that they don't want to get their noses in on something like this. It is certainly too big for them."

Xavier's eyes flickered for a moment, before he nodded. Wolverine took that as a signal that the conversation was over and noted "What's up with your hand? It looks broken."

"It might be. The Brotherhood tried to stop us from rescuing Kurt, so me and Terrence had a little fight. I'm thinking my hand will be fine by morning."

The man snorted. "I could care less. You're still running the morning session with everyone else. Now go get some sleep."

Luke left the room, throwing over his shoulder "Love you too, Logan!"

Xavier chuckled as Wolverine bristled. "Luke has certainly come a long way today. It's surprising how much loyalty he showed to Kurt and to Scott in today's events. He may be trying to be part of the team."

"I hope so. I'm tired of Summers moping about Luke disrupting his team authority. It's throwing off his A-game in the sessions."

Storm spoke up and commented "Now that he's starting to come around to our way of doing things, do you think he's ready to become an actual part of the X-men?"

Xavier's hands once against folded up as he thought out loud.

"Give him a little more time. I think we have a shinning star in Luke just waiting to be polished."

* * *

><p>AN: Good grief, I'm tired. I can only pray that spell check catches some of the mistakes I know I made. Sorry this is so short, but I couldn't stretch it any longer without adding Kurt's point of view. But I hope you enjoyed and I hope to see you guys voting at the poll. Please. It's only a few clicks away on my profile.<p>

Gonna go rafting tomorrow and test my luck and amazing skill with an oar against the wild. I'm gonna come back with two bear pelts and a fish hook through my hand. I might bring back the Titanic on my truck.

Title goes to Jimmy Eat World and their hit 'The Middle'. Props to HMMaster for helping me out at midnight. He's been a real huge help and you should check his stories out. It's been a great inspiration to me and a fascinating read. I bid you all a good whatever time it is when you read this. Big Willis, out!


	12. Touchdown

AN: I'm doing this chapter in place of Episode 7 for a platitude of reasons and I'm sure I don't need to spell it out for you guys. This is the long awaited (for me) Brotherhood episode that will be taking place near parallel with the original episode. For reference's sake, that means that this will be taking place while Mystique is being all tricky on the icy mountains with Rouge and Scott. Disclaimer: How many times must I be reminded of this? I do not own Marvel or any of their ideas. I don't even think I own my own ideas anymore…

Chapter 12

Touchdown

"Where are you?" A man was running down the hall silently, crouched down stealthily as he held his silenced pistol at the ready. He made it to the corner of the hall, checked around the corner before making his way down that hallway as well. There was a room with an open door on the side, revealing a clustered room filled with cardboard boxes, but devoid of life. The man proceeded beyond the door and began to fall into a full on sprint. He was close to the fire escape and his getaway. Halfway down the hall, the man heard heavy footsteps and the dreaded sound of a minigun spinning up. Before he could do anything, his body was riddled with bullets and he collapsed into a puddle of blood.

"How'd you do that? There wasn't a single place for you to spawn! You freakin' cheated!" The controller was thrown down as the TV cut off and the gaming system died. Lance got off the couch and shoved Terrence on the shoulder before he walked off, going outside to blow off some steam.

"It's not cheating! It's modding! There's a difference, you sore loser. I thought I told your mom to raise you better. Guess I'll have to dock her pay next time I see her."

Lance stopped mid-stride and turned to see his housemate grinning ear to ear. Angry, Lance felt his temper get the best of him and his powers begin to surge. The room seemed to vibrate and shake for a moment, but it returned to normal a second later. Lance let out a sigh and calmed down. He wasn't gonna mess up the new house Mystique had arranged for them.

"Hey Rocky! Cut it out down there! I can't paint my toenails if the whole house is shaking. You're lucky Mystique ran off to do whatever or she would be chewing your ass right now."

Lance looked up the nearby stairway where the voice had come from. "Shut up! You're rockier than I am without your boyfriend's watch on! And you're supposed to be out here training with the rest of us!"

Crystal walked out of her room and to the staircase, dressed in a tight red shirt and short athletic shorts. She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she looked down at Avalanche. "I will come down there and show you just how rocky I can get when I stab a crystal the size of your ego up your ass. Now go back to your 'training.' The only thing you're training is the couch. Prick."

Avalanche glared up at the annoying blonde starring right back at him. Not having any witty remarks to make, he just diverted to something else. "Why are you here in the first place? I thought you lived with your dad. Did he kick you out or something?"

Amanda snorted at the suggestion, but took note of how Terrence had perked up to the conversation. Even he was interested. "I don't have to tell you boys anything. It doesn't matter. Now that we're not in a pigsty, I'm gonna stay here. Get used to it."

Terrence chuckled at her as she walked back to her room. Turning to his fellow male, he said, "How long you reckon she'll last in a house full of guys before she goes running back to her daddy?"

"Too long. So are you gonna go try and squat that mountain again?"

Lance and Terrence walked out of the backdoor of the new Brotherhood home. It was a two-story home, like the last one, but it actually looked habitable. It was bigger than the last house and had enough rooms for everyone, as well as an extra bathroom. Everything in it was new, too. It made them wonder where Mystique got the money to buy all of it. Even more curiosity raising was the training grounds she had set up for them.

It wasn't anything spectacular. A clearing had been made behind the house with a few things littering it. The clearing was lined with a running track, for when the supposed 'team' was supposed to run 'drills'. Inside the clearing, a few targets were set up. These were for Lance and Crystal. Lance was supposed to try to shake the ground and knock over only one of the targets grouped up. Crystal was the most inexperienced of all the mutants, so she was merely supposed to practice growing her crystals over certain targets, building up the ease at which she could do so.

Toad had a tower set up for him. It looked more like something off Ninja Warrior, only vertical. There were five stages to it, and all of them would challenge any kind of acrobat. Terrence had tried to get to the top himself and failed miserably on the first part, which required Terrence to flip through a tunnel while in the air. Toad could make it to the second part, a set of hanging bars that were slicked with grease, which pissed Springload off a lot. He hated that sack of slime and he hated being beaten by someone.

Blob was given a wrecked car to bully. He was told to push it around the clearing in laps, and then tie it up on a tree like a punching bag. Mystique said something about callusing his knuckles while turning some of his blob into muscle. Like that would ever happen.

Whenever Quicksilver deigned the world good enough for him to step outside in, he would have to run around the clearing and try to pluck flag markers out of the ground while still going at high speed. Mystique supposed it would increase his hand eye coordination while still moving insanely fast. Terrence reckoned that if Quicksilver learned how to fight while running, he'd be a decent challenge. Plucking those flags would be a start for the twerp.

Terrence himself had taken it on himself to do everything everyone else was doing, partially to challenge himself with things that were not normal for him, and to prove he was better than everyone else on his team. Mystique had set up a giant squat machine for him on the backside of Toad's tower. Weights set on struts about head high, leaving room for Terrence to put his shoulders underneath it. According to the shape shifter, he was supposed to throw the weights up and build up his muscles, then throw them even farther up when they came down. Theoretically, the force of the weight coming down on his shoulders, if it didn't break his back, would add to his muscle tension and give him a boost to throw weights absurdly high. His goal was a bell at the top of the rack, which was level with Toad's tower top.

When he had tried it the first time, he couldn't budge the weight at all. He had to lower it some before it would budge off his shoulders. Once he had breathing room, he had charged up his arms to push up, sending it a few feet up the rack. He dropped in a crouch to help build up his legs, while also charging his arms. As the weights came falling back down, he stood to meet them, rising and catching the weight on his shoulders. The impact knocked Terrence flat on his face. Luckily, the struts caught the weight before they crushed him. He hadn't tried it since.

Aside his failure and inability to figure out how else to complete his training, Terrence was enjoying the new stuff. He had a garage to park his truck in, a room that didn't reek, and a refrigerator that wasn't covered in mold. The X-box in the living room was his own personal touch. He wasn't much of a gamer, but he did enjoy taking a break and cheating his housemates in death matches. He'd beaten everybody at it, even Crystal, who had been adamant about not playing. She was such a hard person to be around. He hated her attitude, but she _was_ part of the team, and more importantly, the only girl on the team. Rouge was never around; no one ever saw her at the house or at school, so she didn't count. Moreover, the X-men had interest in her, so that put her own his 'don't trust' list. She was up there with everyone else he knew.

Terrence looked over to Avalanche, who was still waiting on the older teen to answer on his training. Avalanche hadn't made any noticeable progress on his own training and Terrence was thankful for that. He would never live with himself if he was left behind by the supposed leader of the Brotherhood.

"Nah. I'm gonna go to the gym. Screw Mystique's little weight system. I'm gonna go train the old fashioned way."

"Oh yeah? Well what exactly is that? Cause it looks to me like you're still getting your ass whipped by that same punk X-man." Avalanche challenged, stepping up and poking his finger into Springload's chest.

Terrence growled and slapped the offending appendage away. "The old fashioned way is to go find someone at the gym to spar with and beat the tar out of them like an old oil drum. My powers may not be as fancy as shaking the ground real hard, but they actually get results in fighting. When's the last time you beat an X-man? Oh, wait! You've never done it! So shut up."

Lance must've felt cocky or have been tired of putting up with Springload's attitude and resistance to his obvious leadership. He gestured to the open field behind the new house. "Me and you, right out there. Either you're all talk and you suck or you can back up half of what you say. Let's find out."

Not one to step down, despite the sinking feeling in his stomach, Terrence followed Lance out to the open area. The two stood 10 feet apart from each other and started a stare off. The other Brotherhood members had followed them out there, apparently eavesdropping on the spat between the two. Pietro divided the two groups of onlookers who had wordlessly taken sides. Crystal obliviously stood on Springload's side, unknowing that by standing near him, she was showing favoritism. After seeing him fight in the labs, she did know that she didn't want to be anywhere near Avalanche.

Toad and Blob stood near Lance, who was obviously their pick due to how close they had become due to their similar backgrounds of hoodlums and thugs. Pietro didn't like any of them, so he stood in the middle and would side when the victor as soon as he emerged. The two clashing mutants noticed their crowd and decided to let Pietro start the fight.

"On three. One, two, three! Now go kick his ass!" Springload had sprung forward and closed the gap between him and Avalanche before Quicksilver had finished his last statement. Lance was ready for when he got there, already rolling out of the way and standing up to unleash his seismic blast on his old position.

Terrence had landed hands first and flipped away in a handspring, showing off his acrobatic skills. The ground he had just flipped away from had sprung up in a burst of life. The ground then began to roll forward in a wave, bearing down on the still mutant. Terrence wasn't idle while standing there. He was charging his leg muscles in preparation for his flip over the wave of earth, followed by a landing that he sprung out of in another lunge towards Lance.

Avalanche created another wave large enough to protect himself from Terrence's charge and then crush him beneath it. An audible _thump_ from Terrence's foot burying into the freshly upturned earth told Lance it was time to finish the fight. What stopped him from doing so was Terrence's second foot kicking the earthen wall and sending it straight into Lance's face. Terrence finished freeing himself while Lance furiously scrubbed the grit and dust out of his eyes. The wall collapsed, leaving one big lump of now loosened earth in the clearing. The sight gave Springload a bit of nausea and he forced down old memories.

Growling, Avalanche felt his powers give way and unleash another huge rolling wave of earth, standing 10 feet tall and speeding across the now destroyed lawn, throwing grass and soil everywhere. Terrence just crouched down as he built up his powers in his legs. As the wave neared, Terrence leapt diagonally towards it, barely topping it. He had planned on it and used his already charged arms to push even higher off the wave and into the air. Avalanche looked up to follow his target, but lost sight of him in the bright sun shinning down.

Terrence grinned to himself as he flipped in the air in order to set up what would be a viscous heel drop. This would teach Lance just who was boss around here. It would also give him a terrible concussion. But Lance wasn't stupid, or at least not very. He bailed and dove out of the way from his old spot, knowing that whatever Terrence was about to do would be painful. His dive was awkward due to its urgency, thus he landed face first in the dirt. Terrence, however, landed on the ball of his foot and was able to recover from the missed attack that had left a sizeable footprint in the earth in time to capitalize on the downed Avalanche. He jumped feet first onto Lance's back, eliciting a cry of pain from the ground-shaking mutant. Terrence wasn't done rubbing in his victory and grabbed Lance's arms, pulling them backwards painfully and evoking another shout.

"So you thought I was all talk? Well how do I sound to you now? Huh?"

Lance grit his teeth as he struggled against his restraints, which only added to the pain in his shoulders. "You win, alright! Now get off me, man."

Terrence was not one to just let things go. He had to rub this in and make sure Avalanche learned his lesson. No one in the pitiful crew of misfits could handle him.

Blob and Toad seemed to take Terrence's unrelenting nature and decided to interfere. Toad leapt at Terrence's head, only for the young man to lean back and avoid it, tugging on Lance's arms even harder. Blob came bumbling in, ready to steamroll Terrence out of the way and free his friend. And he would have if not for the sudden appearance of a sturdy crystal wall.

"Let the boys settle this themselves. There's no need for you to get your panties in a knot for Lance's sake." Amanda chided, growing crystals to encase Toad's feet as well, leaving them to watch as Terrence continually tormented their friend.

"I'm still waiting, Rocky. I am not a very patient person. I may just pull these stupid arms off and see how well you can fight after that."

Tears began to stain the grass as Lance bit his lip in pain. He would not give Terrence's the satisfaction of hearing him beg, but his arms felt like they were on fire.

"Alright, man! You're not all talk. You're better than I am, I admit it. Now let me go."

Relief was sweet when Springload did finally release the arms and step off of Lance. The mutant rolled over and flexed his arms above him, getting blood circulating back through them. Wiping at his eyes and easing up on his still painful arms, he fixed Springload a glare but remained silence. His two underlings would not, however.

"What'd you go all satanic on him for, you asshole! Who do you think you are nearly tearing off his arms? You guys were fighting, not holding a death match! Just cause you're stronger doesn't mean you can run roughshod over us!" Toad wasn't normally vocal of anything that disagreed with Terrence, but watching the fight must have stirred something up inside him. Maybe it was a bit of courage and not bad gas.

Blob piped in with a "Yeah!" before punching the crystal wall and shattering it into trillions of pieces. Terrence turned to the bigger person and was about to start mouthing off when the group all heard the phone ringing from the house. Pietro, who had been quiet since the start of the match, ran off in a blur and came back with a wireless phone seconds later. Answering it, he heard nothing but the answering machine telling him he had missed a message.

Putting the phone on speaker before someone pestered him about how they couldn't hear, he played the message.

"Mystique, my sources have located another powerful young mutant in Denver, Colorado. He's been unmarked so far, but I see no visions of how long that will last. You need to move quickly and add him to our fold before others get their hands on him. Good luck."

The band of teenage mutants stared at the phone incredulously in silence. "We've been recruited to a fold? Mystique didn't seek us out herself? She planned all of this?"

There was no answer to the questions, just an explanation of the truth. "She was told about all of us. It was never just a coincident that we were asked by her to join. We were all in the perfect circumstance to want a home and a team. That, and the chance to show up those X-losers."

And this was true. Toad was picked after a Friday night when he had been bullied at a football game. Crystal was selected as soon as her powers emerged since she was practically already in Mystique's lap. Terrence was scooped up as while he was fleeing the X-mansion. Lance had been nabbed after failing to get Kitty. Fred had been talked into it after being laughed at during his show. Finally, Quicksilver had showed up after being bailed out of jail.

"So how are we gonna get to Denver?" This was Crystal who asked, looking around, clearly expecting the group to have some sort of game plan for getting them all to the new mutant and possible recruit.

"Why would we even want to? Why would we try to get another loser out here to join the club? This place is pathetic. We were all better off doing our own thing." This was Terrence speaking, thinking of all of the jobs and money he had missed out on staying with Mystique."

"This could be exactly what we need to beat the X-men though. We don't know anything about him or his powers. He could wipe the floor with the X-men. We need all the help we can get." Toad supplied, showing just how he felt about the team's current chances to triumph over their rival mutant team.

"Or he could be a low-class clown. Just another pawn in Mystique's board game." Lance shot out, clearly displeased with how he had been played. He had not signed up to be someone's whipping boy, nor a tool. He would've joined up with a demolition crew in Chicago with other destructive mutants if he would've known that Mystique was some recruiter for a fold.

"Well why don't we just go get some answers from Mystique herself? Where is she?" Fred asked, pounding his fist into his hand. Even he knew he had been tricked to some degree. And someone would need to pay for it.

"Forget Mystique. We don't need her. We can do this without her. Let's go to Denver and get this new guy, then come back and destroy that silly little mansion on the hill. Who cares what she wants. I say we run this gang how we want to. We aren't her little army of henchmen." Pietro looked ready to run to Denver right then and there. Standing around and talking about it wasn't his favorite thing to do. He blamed his impulsive nature for that.

"Well what do _we_ want?" Terrence stressed, standing firm and drilling the question into everyone. Things needed to be answered before they flew halfway around a damn country. They needed a goal, plans for the future, and a means to reach them.

"I don't really know. Right now, I don't think it matters. We all came here wanting to get strong enough to do whatever we wanted. We came here for power. And there is power in numbers. If we stay together and actually work like a team is supposed to, then nobody can boss around. Not the police, the X-men, or even Mystique. We'll get stronger until we can stand on our own." Crystal explained, putting to words the new motives of the Brotherhood.

"And when we all turn on each other when we're mad with this supposed power?" Lance wondered, glancing at Terrence and rubbing his still sore arms.

"The weakest will fall and the victors will walk off with the spoils. Just like always." Terrence grinned sharkishly at this, as if he was already eyeing all the smaller fish stuck in a pond with him.

"Then why try in the first place?" Toad complained, already knowing that he wouldn't last in a situation like that. Especially with someone as viscous as Springload.

"We'll all last longer. If you ran off by yourself now, then there is no way you could do anything but get pushed around. At least you're safe with us. And we don't necessarily have to split up. But the idea was to get strong enough to do whatever we wanted, with or without help." Lance said, calming down his companion.

"So the vote has been settled. We're all for going to get this new guy, right? So how are we getting there exactly?" Crystal asked again. Leave it to the girl to want to go on a vacation instead of solving the team dynamics problem. Weren't they supposed to be the ones who liked fixing problems like that?

"We'll fly. Mystique has money locked up in that safe in the basement. We bust it open, grab enough money for a round trip on the soonest plane and head to Denver. From there, we find the guy and talk him into joining. Anyone got a sale pitch prepared?" Pietro asked sarcastically, before zipping off towards the house in a blur. He popped back into place a second later, dressed in his combat gear and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Well? Come on slowpokes."

He vanished again, leaving a cloud of dust settling in his place. Terrence turned to the crew of misfit mutants and ordered, "Go grab whatever you wear for a mission and pack it in a carry on bag. I think we'll need 'em in Denver. We're only gonna be there for the night at the most, so don't pack anything else." He looked directly at Crystal for that part, who merely rolled her eyes. "Avalanche, go bust open the safe. You're the best suited for opening the tumblers. Try not to bring the house down."

Terrence strode off from the group and headed towards his room to pack up. The others just looked at each other. Crystal was given the cold shoulder while the boys all walked back together, grumbling about Springload trying to run things. Despite being left out, she went to her own room and pulled out her combat gear from the closet. She'd had a friend's mother make this for her and promise not to tell anyone.

It was simple, just a leotard that covered the essentials and to her knees and elbows. It was the same shade of color her crystals, a light pink hue. It had padding on the shoulder, knees, and elbows, which was were the suit stopped. The padding was a darker blue color and the matching fingerless gloves and boots were too. Grabbing a small bag, she folded up her suit and zipped it up, throwing the bag over her shoulder and making her way downstairs to find the guys all there and ready to go.

"What's the hold up, toots? Let's go." Pietro then bolted from the room and to the garage. Everyone else followed and saw him sitting shotgun in Lance's jeep. Lance just scoffed before jumping in the driver's seat and cranking it up. Toad and Blob piled into the backseat, leaving Springload to haul Crystal around in his truck. "Great."

Amanda smiled as she stepped up on the running boards and slid into the passenger seat, buckling up and waiting patiently on her driver. Terrence stepped up into his own truck and sat down in his seat. As Lance pulled out of the garage and rolled down the drive, Springload turned to his unwanted companion of the moment. He didn't trust her to ride in his vehicle.

"Don't you have your own car? Why don't you just drive yourself to the airport?"

Amanda glanced out the window to answer, waiting on the truck to actually get cranked and moving. But it seemed Terrence wasn't going to drive anywhere without an answer.

"My dad decided to keep my car when I left, alright. So now I'm out a car and I don't have any wheels. Now hurry up. Lance is gonna be waiting on us."

Satisfied with his answer, Terrence turned over the engine and drove off, catching up with Lance and following him to the airport in silence. Crystal wouldn't have that though. Not after he had dragged an answer out of her. It was his turn to answer.

"So I need a favor from you. You wouldn't be willing to spot me a few hundred dollars, would you?"

A chuckle erupted from Terrence immediately. "Just because I hit on you when we first met doesn't mean I'm willing to throw stacks at you now. Forget it!"

"Now wait a second. I wasn't even asking about something like that!" Was the girl's indignant cry. "I plan on paying you back. But my current allowance won't let me buy what I want in time. So I need the money real quick and you're the only person I can ask."

"No I'm not. You and I both know that Luke was a rich boy before he started taking on jobs. He's just as loaded as Xavier, and he's much sweeter on you than I ever will be."

"How do you know that? More importantly I can't ask him without telling him what I'm buying. You wouldn't care either way."

"True. And I know more about Luke than you or anyone else does. I do my research on the few people I run across that I don't stomp into the dirt."

"So you stalked him because you can't butcher him? You need help."

"You make it sound bad when you say it like that. I like to be informed about what I'm up against. Did you know he was emancipated a few years ago? And he got a special license to drive his motorcycle around the same time?"

"Yeah. So?" Amanda asked, wondering why in the world that would be relevant to anything.

"How many people do you know that can afford to live on their own, buy motorcycles, and bribe whoever he needed to make the first two things possible? Or how many kids are even in that situation in the first place?" Terrence asked, pointing out the curiosities of Luke's independent living.

"More than you'd think. But we're all in weird situations with our parents. It's not as if they know what we do out here. We don't live with them and we keep secrets from them. We don't need them to provide food or shelters for us or anything like that. We're independent too. Even the kids at Xavier's school don't stay in touch with their parents that much."

"True enough. Fine. I obsess a little. So can it and let me drive in peace."

"Are you going to spot me the money?" Amanda reminded, steering the dwindling conversation back to where she wanted it.

"If you shut up and pay me back, then yeah." With that, Terrence cut on the radio just to drown out the blonde girl, who merely smiled and watched things go by from the window. They arrived at the airport minutes later and parked beside Lance. Grabbing their luggage, they made their way inside and to the ticket counter. Pietro took the lead from there and requested the tickets needed on the nearest flight and handed her a credit card, presumably from Mystique's safe.

The woman behind the counter ran the card, but paused and looked at her monitor and clicked away with her mouse. "This card is used by a frequent flyer. Would you prefer to use the customary services like she does?"

Pietro glanced back at the others, who all shrugged. "Sure. Just get us to Denver as quick as possible, all right? It's very important to the person who gave us that card to use."

The receptionist nodded, before clicking a few more times. She then stepped from behind the counter and gestured towards a door behind her. "Please follow me to the hangar while we prep the jet for flight. I apologize for the inconvenience of not having it already ready, but we received no forewarning that it would be needed."

Wordlessly, the Brotherhood followed her through the door that opened up to a jet hangar that was apparently Mystique's. The jet sitting inside of the hangar was huge. "How the hell can Mystique afford all of this? She's supposed to be a principal!"

"Obviously she's in shadier business than we know about. Maybe it's a perk for being in the 'fold'?" Crystal supplied, stating the obvious to the ever-oblivious Toad.

People began to scurry around the hangar, shouting orders about checking instruments and gauges. One person walked over and told the group that the bird would be ready to leave the ground by the time they got onboard and seated. The teens did as asked and boarded the plane via a movable stairway that was pulled aside as soon as everyone was in.

As soon as everyone had grabbed a seat, which there was plenty of, the pilot came on the intercom and stated that they had a runway cleared and were ready for takeoff. The plane then began to drive out of the hangar. Todd looked out the window and began to turn even greener than normal.

"I'm not so sure about this flying business guys. Maybe I should stay home in case Mystique gets back? She'll need to know where her plane is, right?"

The plane began to speed up, tearing down the runway and beginning to skip off the ground. Todd clenched his eyes shut and curled up in a ball in his seat. When the Plane finally left the ground, he let out a wail and complained "I was never supposed to leave the ground like this! Jumping is so much better!"

Crystal just looked over to her more sensible companions and said "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I've heard stories about how bad it feels or that you get sick from it, but I feel fine." As soon as she finished saying that, she felt her ears pop and let out a yelp. The other boys just ignored her and tried to slow their heart rates back to normal. All of them had been nerve- no, apprehensive about flying. They were men, they didn't get nervous.

The plane soon settled at its cruising altitude and the pilot came on the intercom and stated such. He also mentioned the ETA for the flight, a mere two hours due to turbulence.

"Now I'm not a geography whiz, but I'm pretty sure it takes more than two hours to fly from New York to Denver, even on a good day. What the hell kind of jet is this?" Terrence wondered aloud.

"I dunno and I don't care. Where's that waitress lady with my peanuts?" Fred bellowed, slamming his hands down on his chair's armrests.

"Dude, you know that they serve actual food on flights this fancy, right? Plus, we've only been up in the air for ten minutes. They'll come out in a while. Calm down before you break something and we all plummet to our untimely demise." That was a rousing speech from Pietro that only made Toad quiver more in his chair. Eventually, everyone calmed and settled in for the flight. Between looking out the window and listening to music on their phones, the group waited in silence for the trip to be over. They really didn't have much else to do.

No one ever did bring food out or offer drinks, but the flight was quickly over and the jet made its decent. Toad clung to his chair like a lifeline and whined again, but no one paid him any attention. The tires hitting pavement was startling and the brakes were jerky, but the landing was a successes and that was all the Brotherhood would ask for. Toad sped off the plane, jumping out of it before they had even brought the stairway out. He kissed the ground and made empty promises to never leave it again. The others caught up to him and Blob nudged him with his foot. Toad hopped up and grinned, bouncing around energetically.

"You know, that was kinda fun. We should do that again!"

Lance face palmed, before reaching over and slapping the froggy mutant on the head. The six then left the hangar where the jet had parked and headed out of the airport to the line of taxicabs waiting outside. Looking around, the teens took in the new environment, taking note of the setting sun and thinner air while coming up with a game plan.

"Where do we go know? The recording just said Denver." Fred asked, turning to the smar- more knowledgeable mutants of the group. Terrence supplied "If Mystique was gonna recruit him, then that means he is around our age. So where would a kid with mutant powers go on a night like tonight? The mall?"

"In a city this big, there are at least 3 or 4 malls. So I say we let the cab drivers drive us around to wherever kids normally hang out. Let's let the locals do the work for us." That was a pretty solid suggestion from Lance, which everyone agreed on.

The group split up into two cars, with Blob, Lance, and Amanda in one and Todd, Quicksilver, and Terrence in another. The second cab had been hired to follow the first one, but where it was going, nobody knew.

Lance asked to pay by card, prompting the cab driver to snort, until he caught a glimpse of the card. Plucking it out of the boy's hand, he looked it over before throwing it back and easing out into the road. "I'm guessin' you fellas wanna go to the same spot as usual, eh? We'll have ya there in a jiffy."

The three teen mutants just shared a look before settling back into the cab seat. If Mystique's card was that influential, then what did they care? They just wanted to see where the cab driver was gonna take them, because that would obviously have something to do with Mystique herself. Was it some secret hideout for whatever 'fold' Mystique recruited for? A hide-away home for whenever she was on the run? Some shady spot she picked up information on other mutants? Who knew? Either way, the Brotherhood was going to find out by the end of the night.

* * *

><p>AN: And that's a start. I had so much fun writing this I decided to expand a bit and make it to full chapters. I think this chapter throws enough in the air, you know? The fight for leadership, Crystal's home and money situation, the new mutant, the Brotherhood's revelation, and Pietro's lack of further explaining just what the phone recording meant by 'fold'. So by next chapter, I may get around to answering one question partially.<p>

I had to stop and really think about the chapter title this time, but I decided on Touchdown. It's done by T.I. and features Eminem. Sad thing is that this song is the shittiest song Eminem ever put lyrics on, hands down. Oh well. It's about landing in planes, so you guys see the relation to the chapter. Whatever, you don't really care.

Happy 4th of July to all my readers. Some of you may think 'Why should I celebrate America's independence if I'm not American?' Well celebrate 4th of July anyways because that is also a worldwide donation day to my bank account. All you have to do to participate is send me all of your social and credit card info. Just kidding. Don't actually send me anything of that nature, or I'll end up in federal prison. Maybe I shouldn't have said that in case one of you guys is spiteful… BigWi11is out!


	13. Can't Touch This

AN: So who else is mad at Microsoft right now? The company has done plenty of terrible things to me before, but right now it's dealt me the worst blow yet. Why in the hell would you buy the exclusive rights for the Skyrim dlc? I'm so damn mad at Bethesda anyways due to how they've screwed over the PS3 version (which I have). They finally patched the water graphics that froze the entire game, so I picked back up as my rape-face magician and got to watch slow motion ice spikes. But instead of watching my vampire lord eat someone's soul, or watch my Khajit nail somebody to the wall with a crossbow, I have to wait. Damn it. Either way, on to the Disclaimer: I don't own X-men: Evolution or any of Marvel's property. I also don't own anything of Capcom's. (You'll see why I disclaimed it later.)

Chapter 13

Can't Touch This

"Where are we again?"

The cab ride from the airport had proven to be long and boring. Nobody had struck up a conversation to pass the time and the driver's choice of music hadn't helped out either. Apparently, John Mayer's biggest fan spread the love driving people from the airport. He also pitched in with his own renditions of the vocals.

"We're on the western side of town. The nicer, swanky part. I was going to take you to the usual spot that those card holders go. Some place called _Ryseau_. Looks like a real nice restaurant or nightclub or something. Anyways, we're about five minutes from there."

Crystal looked over to Lance, who merely rolled his eyes. They were both counting the seconds down. Blob just smacked his lips from his seat, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Food sounded really good to him after sitting in such a tiny car for so long.

When the five minutes actually did pass, the cab pulled into the parking lot packed with expensive cars. The building looked to be 3 stories high and was quite large. None of the people in the cab could identify what kind of material the building was made out of. The cab stopped at the door and a man dressed in a valet's uniform opened the door on each side of the car. The three teens slipped out and watched with mild amusement as the man shut the doors to the cab then paid for the cab ride.

The second cab stopped shortly after the first one left, with it's doors being opened and being paid for by the valet. That must've been one hell of a good paying job, even if it sucked having to open doors for everybody. The valet then led the now regrouped Brotherhood members to the front door, where a large man stood by a podium in front of the entrance. The second car full of mutants were informed of the development while they waited on the bouncer to grant entryway.

"Card please." The deep rumble of the large man's voice shook all of the people around. Lance looked at the others before stepping up as the group's spokesman because he was holding onto the card.

"What do you need this card for? What's up with everybody treating it like it's the Golden Pass or something?"

The man looked over the six, scrutinizing them for important details. They all looked like normal kids, which meant they were way out of place here. And they didn't have a clue what in the world they were getting into. And if their card was valid…

"Just hand it here and mind your own business. You'll find out soon enough."

Terrence shoved his way through the group and stood up to the man who was still well over head high to him. "Listen here, asshole. We just flew halfway around the country to find someone and that card has gotten us here. So you are gonna tell us everything you know about it, starting from the first time you ever saw the damn thing till now."

"Calm down, young'n! Bubbles here doesn't take to kindly to cocky little shits standing up to him. Your card is good, so step inside and I'll spill the beans to you."

Terrence turned to see one of the most worrisome women he would ever see in his life right behind him. How the hell did she get there without anyone noticing and doing something? And she was so quiet too. She must've been a mutant. From her appearance, she was a well paid one too. If Terrence was the kind of guy to give having a relationship serious thought, he'd want his girl to look a lot like this woman. She was very attractive even though she was in her mid thirties, and her blue dress, heels, and stunning green eyes seemed to amplify that. Her hair was absurdly out of place, looking like a black cloud had settled on the woman's head, but it suited her.

"Well lead the way." Terrence wasn't gonna wait around to grill that man for answers when this woman was offering.

Bubbles stepped aside for the group being shepherded in by the woman. The two exchanged glances, but passed each other silently. Bubbles made sure to mean mug Terrence when he walked by, which prompted the spring muscled mutant to flip him off. Everyone snickered as the heavy wooden door shut behind them and they caught sight of the foyer. It looked just like they would've expected from the outside of the building. There was a red carpet leading from the door to a larger room, from which lights were flashing and a crowd could be heard chattering. That certainly didn't seem like the atmosphere for a fancy and swanky restaurant, did it?

"So what is this place?" Pietro asked this time, his impatience getting the better of him. Everyone else was still checking out the room's design in amazement of the sight. The woman turned and smiled crookedly, rubbing her hands gleefully.

"This, my sweethearts, is the one and only place people like us need to go to get filthy stinkin' rich! That's only if you've got the right stuff and you're a notch above the rest of everyone else. What you're standing in is the foyer to the biggest exhibition ring in all of North America! The fact you've been let in here is something to be proud of. But I gotta know. Just where did you get that card?"

Now that she was asking questions, everyone's attention was back on the woman. And no one had a clue what to tell her. Amanda pushed Terrence forward and whispered "Lie to her or something."

"We got this from an acquaintance of ours who wanted us to come by and look at some of the goods. We're reporting back to her later on what all we see."

"Oh! That's just great! I'm gonna let you guys have the best spot in the house to get a view on the 'goods'" The woman said happily, putting air quotes over the word goods. Her cheerfulness was starting to unnerve the group. But the best seats in the house sounded really good. Maybe that would mean better food service?

"Thanks, I guess. I don't know your name, so it's hard to thank you properly." Crystal stated, fishing for a name. They would more than likely need it if anyone else questioned them about their seats. Plus, it would help them address her if they had anymore questions.

"Oh, it's fine. You kids are more than welcome. But if it helps, most people here call me Snakecharmer." And for one sickening moment, the group saw why. In the midst of saying her own nickname, Snakecharmer's tongue had changed into a live snake that hissed testily at being awoken. Then, a second later, everything was back to normal. Toad shuddered audibly, but the woman didn't seem to notice. Even Terrence looked disturbed by the show of mutation.

She turned and led the group down the red carpet from the entrance towards the large opening where the crowd had been gathered. The room wasn't anything like a restaurant or nightclub. Sure there were crowded tables with bustling waiters moving from one to another with drinks and meals and there was even a bar in one corner of the room, but the center of the room is what made it something else. It was a perfect circle sectioned off by perfectly clear glass, showing nothing but the same marble floor.

"Hey, why is that little area sectioned off? Is that where the goods are shown at?" Lance asked, trying to catch Snakecharmer's attention. She didn't say anything, but led them past the tables filled with people who were all watching them carefully. All the patrons were well dressed too, not a single thing less than suits and ties. Terrence was trying to sort through everything in his head, wishing he had paper to write it all out on. Trying to think things out was never his strong suit.

'_So we're at a club that only let's you in if you have Mystique's special card. That card apparently is so well renowned that even taxi cab drivers in Denver recognize it. So why don't I? And this place is shady. So many rich people and businessmen. The place is guarded by mutants and it seems that they expect us to be as well. So that would mean that most of these patrons are mutants as well. But there's no way that they could organize a place like this that only serves the mutant community discretely unless…' _

Grabbing a hold of Pietro's shoulder, Terrence pulled him back and whispered sharply "What was the name of this place? The big name carved in marble above the main door?"

Quicksilver looked quizzically at the older mutant, before vanishing from sight. Terrence whipped his head around towards the entrance and saw the door ajar. A moment later it closed and Pietro was back in front of him. "It's some foreign word or something. Complete gibberish. Why? What's the big deal? Do you want a souvenir T-shirt from this place or something?"

'_What language?' _Terrence wondered to himself before he grabbed Pietro's shoulder again. "What was the name, Speedy? This is important." Pietro jerked his shoulder out of Terrence's grip before replying "Calm down man. It was Ryusay or something like that. Complete gibberish, I tell ya."

Before Springload could say anything to the contrary, Snakecharmer turned to face the group, smiling once again. "Here we are. The VIP seats are right through this door. I'll send someone to you in a minute if you have any requests. Don't worry, relax, and I'm sure you'll all have a good time."

The door she was talking about was merely a panel from the see-through glass that slid to the side. On the other side was an empty table large enough to seat all of the Brotherhood, with silverware and glasses set for dinning. There was another glass wall that showed a flawless viewing for the main floor, which was still empty. Terrence pushed the group inside the personal section and thanked the woman, before shutting the glass panel in her face.

She left, probably to go find a waiter to serve them. Everyone was glad to be rid of her. Fred sat down at the table, slamming his palms down, eager to order some food and chow down. The rest of the group followed shortly after, with Terrence still troubled. "This doesn't make any sense. We're in some auction house run by mutants. Mystique's card, presumably one for membership here, has gotten people jumping through hoops for us. There's supposed to be some hotshot mutant our age around the city. You guys reckon he'll be around here?"

"Well, this is where we've been taken by that card so far. There's no way to know for certain. This whole thing is crazy though. What do you reckon they show here?" Crystal wondered. The sliding of the glass panel behind them caused the group to turn. Their waiter had arrived, but he was empty handed and without anything to take orders with. How odd.

"All right, sit your asses down and shut up. I'm here to tell you what requests you can and can't make before the first round of the exhibition is over. No food or water is to be provided before hand, we don't provide weapons of any kind, nor do we offer to change the temperature for anyone. If your powers only work in circumstances not met by the arena you see out there," The man said, pointing to the center of the room, "Then I suggest you quit now. Otherwise, good luck and we'll have ambulances waiting for you when you're done, if you are in good enough condition to need them."

Lance stood up out of his chair, outraged and extremely confused. "What the hell are you talking about? We're here to see the show and find out what's going on here. And how do you know we're mutants?"

"What kind of condition do you have to be in to _not _need an ambulance?" Crystal questioned, mildly curious, mostly nervous. What the hell was going on?"

The waiter sighed and pushed his glasses farther up his nose in a show of annoyance. "Are you all imbeciles, or does whomever gave you that card hate you? This is the largest exhibition showing for mutants in North America! This is where the best of the best street class mutants come to show the Network what they have to offer. Some of the best workers of our time have come from this very spot. Now get out there and fight. Maybe if you make it back out, we'll offer you some complementary service. Any bets you're willing to place need to be done before the hour, which is when the exhibition starts. You've got 13 minutes."

The man turned to walk back out, only for a question to stop him in his tracks. "What if we refuse?" The man turned to see Terrence propped by his arms on the table, patiently waiting for an answer he knew he wouldn't like. "You would never make it out of here alive. You didn't have a choice the moment you walked through those doors."

With that, the man turned and left, leaving thee team standing in more confusion than what they entered with. Terrence sat back down in his seat, having risen out of it when the word 'Network' was spoken. The rest did as well, mulling everything over in their heads. Things didn't look too good.

"We're fixin' to fight for some food, water, and recognition from people that we don't care about. We don't any say in the matter, according to that jackass. He has ambulances prepared for us because he's expecting us to get slaughtered. Is anyone else worried right now?" Amanda asked, fighting the urge to bite her nails. She had just painted them hours earlier, after all.

Pietro leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table. "We've got this in the bag. There are six of us working together against some street level chumps. According to that guy, these fighters haven't been given contracts or whatever by the Network. Terrence here has, so that means he must be head and shoulder above these guys. The rest of us just have to keep up with him."

Everyone looked to Springload for confirmation. "He's almost right. Some of these guys might have been given jobs before, but come here to grind out weaklings or to get a bigger name for themselves. I've never been to a place like this before. I hardly knew they even existed. So much of the Network is kept under wraps until it's need to know. But if this is a legit Network run operation, then we really shouldn't try to escape. Network takes security extremely serious and the guards here would kill us for breaking the rules. Our best bet is to fight until we're given the option to leave. As a bonus, this will probably give us a great chance to find that mutant we were looking for if he's here."

At this, he slipped his backpack, which was his carry on luggage for the trip, off his shoulders and dug out a black suit with matching gloves and shoes. The athletic shoes looked more expensive then the rest of the outfit put together. "If we're gonna fight, you guys might as well suit up." Quicksilver was left behind at the table because he was already wearing his combat gear, while the others went to the bathroom, thankful for the signs to direct them. They could tell they were being watched the entire time they were walking around, so it made them move in a hurry. They came back to Pietro still propped on the table.

"Here's hoping we make it out of there alive. We get fame, possible fortune, the chance to meet our mysterious recruit, and we get to walk out of here." Amanda recapped, running her fingers through her hair, anxious of the upcoming fights.

"We get food for winning too." Fred provided, smashing his hands together in anticipation. He had all the motivation he needed. "So when do we get to fight? I'm ready to start." As if in response to his question, the glass in front of the 'VIP' room slid down into the ground, providing clearance to the main floor. The six walked out, spotting competition coming out from every side. There had to be at least twenty other mutants coming onto the main floor. Most looked like a bunch of nobodies, dressed in simple street clothes like the Brotherhood had been. Others were in similar outfits or uniforms as the Brotherhood, showing that they were taking it seriously and came prepared.

A voice rang out through the speaker system hanging over the room as all the mutants began to move forward towards the center of the ring.

"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between! Tonight, we're here to show you the up and coming stars of the world, the men and women, boys and girls who will get things done. This is their time to show out and show off, so sit back, buy another drink, and watch carefully. Contestants! Keep sharp. You're performing for your future employers, so try to say alive and make sure no one else does. There are no rules, no obligations to hold you back. The fights stop only when all of you stop. Now get it poppin'!"

Silence was clear over the entire arena for a few precious moments, and then the war erupted. Crystal took a step back and watched as mutants began to power up or start fighting. It was so absurd to her. Why would anyone risk their lives fighting just so they could go do jobs and risk their lives again? Were they all just adrenaline junkies? Did that make her just as bad as them for being here as well?

A man adjacent from the Brotherhood group saw Crystal step back and saw her as the weakest among them. He targeted her, slamming his hands down on the ground and began to push energy into it. A trail of dark liquid formed, speeding towards Crystal and the others, who were still grouped together defensively. Toad spotted the trail and warned the group, who all turned to run out of the way. Fred was too slow to avoid the stream, which soon turned the entire area where the Brotherhood had been into a swamp. Sinking fast, he cried out to his team.

"Help me! Get me outta here!"

Crystal turned and looked back at her teammates, quickly growing a crystal from solid ground out towards Fred, making it as strong and thick as she dared to without exhausting herself. Fred grabbed onto his lifeline and began to pull himself back towards solid land. Todd helped pull the big guy out while Lance blasted the stream with seismic waves. The seismic waves traveled faster in the swampy earth than on dry ground, so the mutant on the other end had no time to react when the stream reversed on him and he was soon flooded by his own mud that left him completely bogged down.

Terrence snorted to himself, before he heard Blob and the other mutant start shouting. Looking them over, he saw the reason why. The mud was hardening like cement. Fred quickly broke out of his with his immense strength, but the original mutant could not. What a sad way to go, buried alive by his own powers. Just thinking about it made Terrence shiver in phantom terror.

The Brotherhood regrouped, watching the fights take place in front of them. It was an amazing sight, awe inspiring even for other mutants. Powers were flying all over the place, and sometimes, bodies did to. Maybe a dozen of the competitors were still up running around causing each other mayhem. Eight of the mutants still left made a silent alignment to break up the teen mutants to the side that hadn't split up yet. They were coming for the Brotherhood.

One mutant ran out in front of the group and slammed his palms together, making a giant flash of yellow light that blinded the group and even some of the mutant's own allies. He finished making it to the group before Avalanche recovered and began to send waves of marbled floor at the advancing mutants. Amanda finished wiping her eyes and found herself face to face with the flashing mutant. His skin was glowing yellow and she quickly averted her eyes while cursing her luck. Why was everyone picking on her tonight?

The flashing mutant, an older man dressed in bright yellow to match his powers, tried to flash again, but Crystal shielded her eyes. When the flash was gone, she lashed out with her arms and began to grow crystals to pummel the man. One grew straight into his gut, continually growing until it threw him several yards away. The man just pushed back up and began to fire beams of light at the girl. Crystal tried to avoid them, but they were coming so fast she finally was tagged by one on her right side. Pain erupted from her skin as she saw the burn mark appear on it through her suit. Rubbing the burning flesh to soothe the pain, the blonde had to take evasive action again, diving into a roll and leaping out of it in a handspring. Maybe cheerleading practice was paying off?

Taking the moment to think levelheadedly while the flashing mutant recovered from expending so much energy, Crystal thought about what his powers were. Light. What were her powers? Growing crystals. So how did that help her? A smile formed on her face as she figured out how she was supposed to win this stupid competition.

The flashing mutant (she had named him Sunbeam) had recovered from splurging all of the earlier light and was about to fire another volley, but Crystal was ready. She grew a series of crystal pillars that trapped the mutant, as well as his light beam, inside. The light refracted from the uneven reflective surface and hit the mutant. Sunbeam was unharmed by it, but he was also trapped now by the pillars.

Satisfied, Crystal turned to see how her teammates had handled things. Toad had to fight a mutant woman who was using a glass ball as a medium to make earthen soldiers out of the ground. Toad had scurried away and avoided being hit fairly easily, as marble men made for slow adversaries. When he figured out how the woman was using her powers, he snatched it out of her hands with his tongue, causing the men to crumble back into the floor. Toad took the woman down with a dropkick to the head that left his smelly sneakers footprint on her cranium.

Pietro was having fun, juggling two mutants who must've been siblings by the looks of them. They would swap places each other via some sort of teleport, but Pietro had simply corralled them inside a vortex of him running around them. Instead of simply letting them suffocate from oxygen deprivation, Pietro would veer off from the circle he was in and would clothesline one of the mutants. The other would swap to take it's place and put the other in safety, only to get hit as well. While the two were helping each other up, crystals grew to imprison both simultaneously, so no matter if either teleported with the other, they would still both be trapped.

Quicksilver ran over to Amanda's side, complaining "Spoilsport. I was having fun with them!"

"Go have fun with the others. They aren't looking so hot!"

Indeed, Avalanche, Blob, and Springload were surrounded by four mutants and looked to be in dire straights. One mutant dove at them, putting his hands out in front of him like a spear, only to be swatted by Fred into the ground, where he disappeared. Another capitalized on Fred's now open back and was about to charge in with his freaky axes that had replaced his hands, only to be nailed in the side and sent rolling away by a flying side kick from Springload. Lance kept the last two mutant at bay by sending rolling waves of the floor at them. One dodged by blasting the floor with air and launching himself above it, the other merely blasted a hole through it with a beam erupting from her mouth.

Blob charged forward at the nearest opposing mutant, the woman spitting energy beams, and slammed down on her with his heavy hands. She scampered out of the way, letting Blob's attack hit the floor instead. Blob just rolled with it and dug his hands into the marble, pulling it up in a wall and pushing it forward to collapse on the woman. She shouted a blast that destroyed the wall, but in the dust and ruble, she missed Blob's follow-up attack. A block of marble hit her squarely in the chest and knocked her lights out, eliminating her from the competition and crumpled on the floor. Blob turned to see Amanda tapping her foot and clucking her tongue.

"You're not supposed to hit a girl, big guy. Didn't anyone ever tell you that?"

Blob just bellowed in laughter, rubbing his hands together proudly. "I never did hit her. That rock sure did though."

The two returned to the others, who were wrapping up their own fights. Lance had teamed up with Pietro and Toad to take down the air manipulating mutant. Toad had wrapped up on arm with his tongue, which left the mutant hovering dangerously low in the air while struggling to get his limb free. Avalanche concentrated to make a seismic wave that moved the earth into a ramp for Pietro. Quicksilver blurred off the ramp and into the air, knocking the floating mutant to the ground hard. Quicksilver began to circle the mutant and when he stopped, the competitor wasn't moving at all aside the unsteady rise and fall of his chest as he regained a steady breathing pattern unconsciously.

Springload wasn't having as much success, dodging the mutant man who could change his arms into different weapons. Right now they were simple bludgeons, but extremely painful. Terrence's throbbing left arm would confer that fact. It didn't help that the other mutant from earlier would propel himself out of the ground like a spear from Springload's blindside, and if he missed, then he would vanish back beneath the surface to try again. Springload rolled out of the way of the two-armed bludgeon assault, charging his leg up to kick the mutant in the back and knock him forward. He had to abort the effort when the landshark mutant came back, nearly taking Springload's head off.

Glaring at the now departed mutant in the ground, he had to charge a leap out of the way as the weapon-shifting mutant turned back around to attack again. As he leapt backwards, the ground shark mutant tackled Springload out of the air and into the ground, literally. Terrence was left buried in the ground with only his head sticking out of it. The two collaborating mutants looked down at Springload, glaring. One spit on Terrence, getting saliva in his hair. The other just drew his arm back to cave in Springload's head with his mace arm. A blur of silver flying by knocked the mutant off balance, and the Blob belly flexing launched the mutant into the distance, where he landed hard and stayed down. The land shark mutant slipped back underground, only to be flung back out by Avalanche shaking him back out.

The mutant shook his head to clear it out, before taking stock of the enemies before him. Seeing himself surrounded and outnumbered, he held his hands up in defeat, knowing he had been beat. Blob had the decency to give him a love tap on the head that sent him into snooze land. Terrence, who was stuck body deep in the ground, was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Struggling to stay calm and not hyperventilate, he closed his eyes and whispered in order to keep his voice from cracking. "Get me out of this. Please."

Avalanche looked down at his fellow teammate, thinking of how only hours ago Springload had been threatening to tear off his arms. "I ought to leave you, after the way you've treated me and everyone else on this team. You might be better than us, but that doesn't mean you don't need us. Remember that."

Springload kept his eyes closed and his mouth shut, while Avalanche focused his powers on loosening the marble around Terrence without crushing the teen. Blob began to pull on Springload's head painfully by his ears, slowly lifting him out of the floor that was now much softer thanks to Lance. Once Springload was freed, he lay flat on the floor and tried to calm himself after being in such a panicked state in front of everybody.

"Thanks."

Avalanche took that with a bit of smugness, but held his hand out to pull Springload up. "If we're gonna run this gang right, then we're gonna have to help each other. I don't care if you don't like me, but at least work with me, alright?"

Terrence nodded, pulling himself up and eyeing what was left of the competition. One teen about their age. From across the main floor, the kid didn't seemed scuffed up or harmed in the slightest. And guessing from the pained moans of every body on the floor around him, he must've had a dangerous mutation. Springload checked around him, making sure all of his friends were still fine. Wait, did he just call them friends?

Crystal patted Terrence on the back and said "It's cool if you're claustrophobic or something. Just let us know next time and we'll watch your back, ok?"

Springload gave her a funny look, trying to figure out her intentions for trying to comfort him. He gave up and shrugged, saying "I'm not claustrophobic. That'd be completely irrational. You guys have got nothing to worry about. That won't ever happen again."

Crystal just looked at him, questioning him with a look that asked why he was hiding a fear that was now painfully obvious to the others. Terrence ignored the look and focused back on the other mutant, who had now seen and turned to face them. He didn't look worried.

Lance called out to the teen, offering a peace treaty "Give up and we won't pummel you any. It's you against all six of us, so you may as well give up now. Make it easier on yourself."

The other mutant began to slowly walk over to the group, who had grouped back up and were all watching the mutant carefully. He kept walking, only to gradually float from the ground up a foot and levitate while proceeding forward. The group was even more on edge now, readying themselves in case the mutant really was stupid or cocky enough to attack. In the blink of an eye, the mutant was gone, only to reappear again a few feet in front of the group.

"I don't think I will. You newbs just don't seem to get how over leveled I am compared to you all. Prepare to be pwnd."

The gamer lingo was a bit offsetting, but the threat was obvious. In another second, Pietro had speed to the mutant, but the mutant teleported away, appearing behind Blob with his hands centered around his waist, charging up a blue energy that was felt by all the mutants in the room. Blob turned just as the enemy mutant pushed his attack forward and shouted "Hadouken!"

The attack was astounding. It sent Blob tumbling away in a painful crash to the ground several yards away. The other Brotherhood members just stared at the unknown fighter, each one wondering just what kind of mutation he had in order to copy a signature fighting move from a video game of all places. The boy just grinned as he settled into a stance more suited to melee combat. Pietro wasted no time and speed forward, going by so fast that the wind kicked by threw up knocked the mutant off of balance, leaving him open to a flying side kick, courtesy of Springload. The kick sent him rolling back and into a crystal wall, with other walls growing around him to enclose him inside a prison.

"Give up! This is the last time we'll offer for you to give, so take it. If not, then we'll put you down a lot harder than that little tap I just gave you." Terrence warned, charging up his muscles just in case. The mutant didn't answer until he shattered his crystal prison with another Hadouken, stepping out of the remains.

"My health bar is hardly even dented, even after all those other fights with other losers and that hit you gave me. Everyone could take a lot more of a beating than that in the Street Fighter games. Don't you know anything?"

What was up with this guy? He was talking like a really in depth game nerd that hadn't put the controller down. He was treating the fight as if he actually had a health bar or that a video game had anything to do with the fight going on right now. It had to be related to his powers somehow.

Lance stepped in after he had finished checking on Blob, who was unconscious and looked hurt. He sent seismic waves at the mutant, who was thrown around and landed flat face-first on the now shattered marble floor. He pushed back up and wiped the blood leaking out of his nose, sending a glare at Lance. He vanished in another teleport, reappearing in front of lance with his palm outstretched and in Avalanche's face. A copy of the mutant appeared behind Avalanche, palm outstretched to the back of his head as well. The two began to gather a sickly purple looking energy to blast the stunned Avalanche with. In a simultaneous chorus, the two shouted "Psycho Cannon!" before unleashing the energy.

The other Brotherhood mutants watched in horror as Avalanche disappeared in an explosion and the area was soon covered in dust. Not a single one of them could breathe until the dust settled and they saw the still from of Lance Alvers, his bowl headgear shattered and several burns covering his face. From where they were, the Brotherhood couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. Each one was angry enough to where it didn't matter either way. They were going to take Avalanche's life out on this new mutant's hide. Quicksilver burst past the game-mimicking mutant and hit him several times from behind, but the gamer reacted well and put a block that seemed to be unaffected by Pietro's speedy attacks. Quicksilver vanished again, taking a moment to plan out a better attack, but Crystal figured it out for him. Crystals grew out of the ground in a barrage of blunt formations that would pummel the mutant who was trapped inside a box. A formation would grow painfully into his back, knocking the mutant forward into another formation that would knock him into yet another formation.

Eventually the assault stopped due to new formations not having any room to grow and the boy was given a moment to recover. A "_Kaiten Tori Keru_" shout rang through the air, right before the crystals shattered and the mutant flipped right side up. Stepping out of the crystal shards once more, he looked pointedly at Crystal, who was looking pale and tired at this point, and said "That would be Spinning Bird Kick to you silly Americans who play the translated versions and get ripped off."

Terrence gritted hit teeth at the problem before him. The guy had taken out two of their team, as well as numerous others earlier and he still looked ready to go a few more rounds. Amanda had just worn herself out giving the guy one hell of a beat down, but it hardly seemed to hurt him. If the guy was ripping off fighting moves from Street Fighter, then it hardly seemed like a good idea to get close. But there wasn't any real ranged power among them anymore, with Crystal everything but keeled over in exhaustion.

Toad looked between Quicksilver and Terrence and saw the shared grim looks, before looking back to the mutant who was standing calmly even after taking such an assault. He was about to suggest that maybe they give up trying to fight the guy and quit so they could get Lance and Fred some medical attention, but the enemy competitor beat him to it.

"You guys should quit. I've still got half my health bar and you guys just blew your hyper technique. None of you will get the chance to do that again, so you have no hope left."

Terrence clenched his jaw and thought for a moment, before asking "You keep treating this like it's a fight in a video game. Why?" Maybe he could get some answers on this guy's troubling powers?

"Because to me, it is. One big game that I've unable to lose. You wanna know why?"

"You have cheats?" Toad questioned, before hacking up a ball of flying spit that was sent straight into the teen's face. Terrence took the time to get close while the guy was struggling to get the nasty semi-liquid off of his face. The mutant must've heard Terrence get close, as he began to quit struggling against the slime and put up a block. Springload just smirked before charging up his arm for 4 seconds, feeling the strain begin to build. Any longer of a charge would probably throw his arm out of socket when he punched.

The punch, while strong enough to send the fighter sliding back a few feet, didn't break the guard or cause any harm to him, much to Springload's amazement. That punch would've snapped any normal person's arm in half. Another punch just as strong followed, but with no different results. Frustrated, Springload started to think. This guy had to be mimicking everything about Street Fighter, which would explain why that block was so good. So how did you stop somebody from blocking in that game?

Terrence wasn't much of a gamer, not at all. But it seemed the obvious solution was to attack the legs. A sweeping kick knocked the gamer mutant off of his feet and out of his guard. The Street Fighter imitator hit the ground hard and was kept there by a series of kicks, punts, and stomps from Springload. Even Terrence knew a cheap way to win a fight on games like that was to cop 'em out on the ground.

Apparently, the gamer knew this as well and decided to counter as only a video game character could. Rising in a spinning crouch, the mutant stood from the crouch with a rising uppercut that connected with Springload's chest, then his chin, sending him rising in the air. From there, the mutant rose in another spiral uppercut with a flaming fist that slammed into Terrence's gut and sent him flying away into the painfully hard marble floor.

A bit of blood began to leak around Terrence's head from where he hit the floor, but the muscle compressing mutant didn't rise or respond, even as small flames died out on his clothes. The Street Fighter imitator just turned to the three remaining competitors. Quicksilver began to run again, knowing that it would be dangerous and stupid to leave the mutant time to recover. He began to circle him and created a vortex that would draw all the air out of it and eventually cause the guy to suffocate and pass out.

The mutant began to realize it and thought of how to get out of his troubling situation. The mutant jumped into the air, seemingly ignorant of gravity as he flew up. From his high point in the air, the mutant stretched out his arms to inhuman lengths, reaching the edge of the vortex. Quicksilver was moving so quickly that he couldn't stop from running into the open hands that clamped down on his shoulders like vices. From there, the mutant drew himself in and began to deliver several hard headbutts to the captured mutant, hollering "Yoga" with each hit. He finished with an even harder headbutt that left Pietro crumpled on the floor with a bloody face.

"Yoga Shangri-la was always one of my favorite moves. Dhalism was a great character in that game."

Neither Toad or Crystal knew what the heck that guy was talking about, but they both knew that this was extremely bad for them. All of the heavy hitters in the group were down and out, so it was left to them to beat this guy who would simply not stay down.

Toad hacked up another ball of slime to blind the guy, but he merely swatted it away without any of it getting on him.

"That trick won't work twice. Bison taught me how to deflect incoming KI projectiles and your powers are no different. Now prepare to lose."

Before the mutant could move, crystal structures formed and encased his feet, holding him still. As he stared down at them, the blonde girl tried to reason with him. "Wait just a second. What if me and the twerp over there tell you we give? Our friends over there need some attention, so if we could just get them and get outta here, that'd be great. It'd work out for all of us, because you would be king of the ring, or whatever you want to call it."

The mutant ignored the suggestion, before turning to his imprisonment's creator. "You are foolish. I gave you a chance earlier, but you chose to become my enemies instead I'll give no enemy of mine any quarter nor mercy. You shall be defeated."

Crystal was already creating a wall of crystal as a shield in front of her as soon as she saw the mutant move. The gamer had drawn back his arm, before bringing it forward in a punch. "Sonic Boom!" A yellow crescent bladed projectile erupted from the move, flying into the crystal wall and shattering it like every other KI attack had. Crystal was knocked flat on her back from the attack, unable to move any more and thoroughly exhausted from growing so many crystals.

From the ground she heard Toad yelp and made out the sound of another shout from the seemingly unbeatable mutant competitor. "Ashura Senku!" From the sound of a body collapsing to the floor, Amanda would only assume that Toad had been defeated as well. Laying face up gave Crystal a nice view of the ceiling, which now that she noticed, was a painted mural of something she didn't recognize. A shadow soon impaired her vision, then followed by the fighter who had taken down every single Brotherhood mutant.

His pitch black eyes were creepy to look at, and even with the bits of slime that was still on his face, Amanda couldn't help but shudder at the sight. They were so deep and sickeningly black she couldn't look at them for long. A small frown formed on his face as he stared down at his defeated opponent. She had lasted the longest against him and the biggest annoyance out of all of the last six he had beat. She was the one that Satsui no Hadou would require him to kill. Even though he had tapped into Akuma to defeat the green froggy mutant, the personality still desired to destroy her, the one who had harmed him the most.

Amanda could only stare in horror as those black eyes hardened and the face steeled itself of emotion. The mutant drew his arm back and fell to one knee. He reached for her shoulders, whispering out "Prepare yourself!" Amanda closed her eyes and cursed everything she could for letting her get on that stupid jet earlier and for getting her in the middle of a mutant fight club with this deranged, game-obsessed maniac.

A flash of red caught her attention, but she didn't dare open her eyes. Then there was a sharp crack that rent the air, as well as the smell of sulfur. Finally opening her eyes, she was greeted by the blue furry demon X-man, who's name she never bothered to learn.

"Greetings! I'm supposed to get you out of here now." Nightcrawler grabbed her on the shoulder and they were gone. And for one miserable trillionth of a second, Amanda felt like she was in hell. Then the feeling passed and she was greeted by a strange bald man from her seat in what looked like the interior of a plane.

As hazy and tired as she was before the teleporting, the girl still managed to get out a "Huh?"

The bald man folded his hands across his lap as Kurt teleported the other defeated Brotherhood members into the Blackbird. None of them were awake, but a dark-skinned woman with a beauty about her that made Amanda slightly jealous looked them over and said they would all be okay, if a little banged up. Amanda sighed to herself.

Charles Xavier looked at the girl for a brief moment, before touching his temple with his right hand.

'_Alright team, they're all here. Fall back.'_

Ignoring any grumblings he heard telepathically from his team, Xavier began to relax when all of them reappeared via Kurt's porting. He refocused on the girl and used his powers as lightly as he could, trying to be as invasive as possible.

'_You and your friends will be fine Crystal. You can rest now.'_

And so she did, with a little prodding from Xavier. The man then turned to Storm, who was back in the pilot's seat. Nodding her head, the woman prepped the plane for take off and adjusted all the instruments she would need to do so.

Logan sat down in the seat aside Xavier, bothered by something. Looking over to his long time friend, he could tell the man needed to get something off of his chest.

"What is it, Logan? Something has upset you."

Logan turned to face the professor and explained his offset feeling. "I get the feeling that helping Mystique out will come back and bite us in the rear, Chuck. I got a bad feeling in my bones."

"There wasn't much choice. We couldn't simply leave her mislead children to be either killed or worse. That room that they were in was unsettling. It blocked my telepathy and it blocked Kurt's porting until you cut that entrance in the roof. It would seem that more and more people are learning how to block telepaths. And that last mutant fighting? I couldn't get a good look at him mentally before it was time to leave."

Logan grunted at the questioning of his last opponent. "That kid was tricky. From what I heard our kids say, he was quoting some video game and using fictional martial arts moves. Luke tried to show off and show him some move that he had copied from a game, but the other kid just flattened him with some bizarre attack. He was seriously strong, Charles. I don't think our kids could've taken him if forced to. It would also doesn't help that he beat all of the Brotherhood in one go."

Charles nodded, soaking in the information. "That could explain why he was so hard to read mentally, if he's taken in personalities from a game."

Luke pitched in from his seat, having eavesdropped a little. "That guy was pretty scary when you think about it. He had every character in Street Fighter copied and he was spamming their KI attacks. If his powers let him copy characters out of video games, then he could do just about anything! There are so many games out there that let you do so many crazy things. He didn't seem to recognize my Hurricane Corkscrew, so maybe he's really stupid and doesn't know how his mutation works?"

Logan snorted and replied "It's never that easy, kid."

* * *

><p>AN: So yeah. Camp was the bomb and totally worth blowing this chapter off for an extra week or so. Sorry for you losers who didn't go to camp this summer and don't know what I'm talking about. I wrote a more filling story to go on my profile. Read it and vote in my freakin' pole! Last chapter to vote on Luke's codename, you jerks!<p>

The characters found at the Network exhibition house were all mine, but only the ones that were named mattered, as well as the last one that was so strong. I had a lotta fun writing him and having him use so many attacks from Street Fighter. He's gonna go real far you guys, don't worry. I'm gonna post a profile about him on my profile, too. If anyone sends me a message or leaves a review about the Hurricane Corkscrew reference, then I'll give you cookie.

Next chapter, we get to see how the Brotherhood react to waking up in the X-mansion. Here's hoping you enjoyed this chapter and will stick around till the next update. I hope it won't take as long!


	14. The Reunion

AN: Sup guys? Nothing much, I suppose, because you've resorted to reading this for entertainment. I'm doing fine, still recovering from my carpet burn war wounds. I'm also back to working even more full time than normal. My idiot co-worker who cut his finger just got fired for faking sick, so… I need some stress relief. This chapter is supposed to be the Spykecam episode, but Luke couldn't really get involved with that, so… Here's hoping. Disclaimer: I do not own any of Marvel's property nor do I own X-men Evolution. I used to own a can of Dr. Pepper. Now I own a can that used to have Dr. Pepper.

Chapter 14

No Apologies

The team was taking shifts watching over the med bay, waiting on their new houseguests to wake up. None of them were seriously injured from all the fighting in Denver, but all of them were pretty banged up. Xavier had searched over their memories and found that their perspective was completely false from what Mystique had told them, little to their surprise. The gall that woman had to confront them in the first place.

After Scott and Rouge had been rescued, the team had all been briefed that their principle, Mrs. Darkholme, was in fact Mystique. Big shock there, considering the woman had personally gone about collecting every member of the Brotherhood and always sided with them over the X-men. Rouge and Scott were told to rest, but when Mystique showed up at their doorstep, holding her hands up to show she came in peace, that put a wrench in their sleeping plans.

She said that when she got back to the Brotherhood home, that the place was trashed. Her team was gone, and it looked like a kidnapping. The kidnappers has left a calling card and she had it traced back to the exhibition center in Denver. She refused to come along, not that the X-men had offered seeing that she had just tried to kill Scott.

The professor then ordered the rescue, telling the team that Brotherhood or not, they would help mutants in need. Not everyone was happy with that, but they all went along with it. Once at the exhibition center, it was merely the challenge of finding a way in, as Kurt couldn't teleport, nor could Xavier sense anything inside.

Wolverine's solution was to cut was a way in through the roof. Jean kept the debris from falling while Kurt teleported everyone in through the now available space. They had found the absurdly powerful gamer mutant about to finish off Crystal, but Scott blasted him just in time. He then began to throw KI attacks at them like it was nothing. Luke had tried to respond in kind with a Hurricane Corkscrew move, hoping to humor his opponent with a legendary fighting move. It didn't turn out so well, as halfway through spinning his arm to generate a spinning gravitational force with his powers, the Street Fighter copycat nailed him with a Hadouken that sent him flying.

The attack wasn't in vain, as the leftover force from his Hurricane Corkscrew dispersed and disoriented the gamer. He must've felt like he was in a G-force rollercoaster ride. This gave Kurt all the time he needed to gather up the Brotherhood mutants. After that, everyone was signaled to fall back. They had no real stake in fighting the gamer mutant, after all.

When they arrived back home, only Rouge went off to her new room. Everyone else was still on edge about having the Brotherhood in the mansion, so they had all stayed suited up and ready to go.

So there they were, either standing in the hallway or in the med bay, pacing the floor and killing time. The shifts consisted of Jean, Luke and Kitty; then Scott, Kurt, and Evan. The one shift that was in the med bay would recline in the chairs, the shift in the hallway would nap on the floor. The X-men had gone through 3 hour long shifts so far, with no sign of the Brotherhood waking up any time soon.

"Jean, can't you just go inside their head and make them wake up? We're sitting on pins and needles here because these jerks don't have the decency to wake up and go home now that the party is over."

Jean shot down the idea, turning to her teammate saying "I'm not that good at telepathy yet to mess with someone's sleeping patterns. And besides that, these guys need the rest. Disturbing them now could cause them to upset injuries and make them even worse. We need to let them recover at their own pace before they leave."

"I just wish, like, they could do it at their own house. I'm not some babysitter." Kitty said, sitting on the side of Lance's bed.

Silence fell back on the room, with nothing to keep the three teens entertained as the time crept by. It was a dull job, but one that everyone agreed needed doing. That didn't mean they had to like it.

Luke looked around the med bay, going over all the injuries that everyone had gotten. Lance looked the worse off, with several burns on his face and the back of his head. Blob had whelps an a burn mark on his chest. Terrence had mild burns, a concussion, and a very sore jaw from the looks of it. Pietro's nose was shattered, but he was otherwise fine. Toad's back would be very sore from the giant purple bruise on it. And Amanda. She wasn't hurt at all except a small burn on her side. How'd she avoid taking as much damage from her teammates but still get knocked out?

If that guy was gonna finish her, then she must've done a lot of damage to him. But he must not have hit her with any KI attacks for her to be so unmarred. So what could've knocked her out for so long? And why was she twitching? Wait…

"She's waking up."

And sure enough, the sleeping beauty rose up from her bed, rubbing her eyes at the bright room. Eventually, her eyes adjusted to the lighting and she looked around, taking note of everyone in the room with her. All her teammates, who were still unconscious, and some of the X-geeks. They were hovering over her bed, ready to attack her at the slightest hint, or that's what it looked like from her view.

Jean picked up her train of thought and used her arms to ward off the other two, giving the blonde a little breathing room.

"What happened? You guys appeared out of no where and saved us, but why? How did you know we were there? What are you doing with us now?"

Luke pushed asides Jean's arm and stepped back in. He was Amanda's friend after all, not Jean. He should be the one who warded the other two off to give Amanda breathing room. Ignoring the redhead's rolling eyes, the only conscious guy in the room began to explain.

"Well, we saved you guys from that mutant in Denver and brought you back here. We saved you because it was the right thing to do. We were told by Mystique, who told us you were kidnapped. And now we're letting you guys rest because you're all beat up. I think that's everything you asked, in proper order too."

Luke was smiling at his accomplishment, but the girls ignored him. Crystal just looked over her teammates and saw how hurt they really were. Then she turned back to Luke and said "We weren't kidnapped. We were there trying to scout out a new mutant. Somebody called Mystique to warn her, but she was gone, so we went in her place. Big mistake."

Luke nodded, not telling her they already knew that from the Professor's earlier probe. He looked over to the other sleeping guys in the room and asked "How come you didn't get smashed on like they did? You got a tiny burn on your side and that was it. Did that guy take it easy on you or something?"

Crystal scoffed, before poking the burn mentioned and hissing at the pain it still brought. Then she turned back to her audience and decided to tell them the story. Why not? She was stuck in bed anyways because she didn't feel like moving at all.

"Well, first off, there were a lot more mutants in that arena asides us. We fought a bunch before we fought him."

"Really?" Luke questioned, thinking back on the arena. "It was empty asides you guys. There was a bunch of destroyed stuff, but I thought that was you guys. So how many are we talking about?"

"There were about 20 of them. It was some kind of promotion show for mutants trying to get jobs from Network clients. We stuck together and fought about half of them, but one of them nicked me with his light beams. I left him inside a crystal prison that would bounce everything back at him. Then when we were the last guys left, that gaming mutant shows up and starts wiping the floor with everyone. He took us down one at a time at his own leisure. I tried to box him in, but he broke free. Then when he actively attacked me, I made a wall, but it broke. From there, you guys showed up and know the rest."

"Hmm. So I guess you guys were tired before fighting him and that would put him at an advantage. But he had to fight people too, so… That guy was scary strong. I don't like it."

"He was such a nerd, though. He talked about a health bar and all that other junk. I thought he was gonna start preaching about some game whenever he talked."

"He seemed kinda nutty. But now you're awake. I assume you guys are gonna wanna go home?"

Crystal nodded, sliding her legs from beneath the sheets to the side of the bed. Luckily, she was still fully dressed or that would've been an embarrassing situation. "I'm ready to go, I guess. It'll be a long walk, so I better get started."

Luke held his hand out and tugged her onto her feet, where she swayed unsteadily as blood began to flow properly. "We're not that cruel. I'll drive you. I can return the favor for all the rides you've given me."

Crystal nodded and muttered a small thanks, but looked over to her friends. "What about them? All their vehicles are at the airport. They'll need a way to get them. I bet none of them have money to call a cab either."

Luke looked over to Terrence, before walking over to his bed. The spring muscled mutant's bag was beside it, so Luke rummaged through it, looking for something. When he found it, he pulled it out with a small jingling sound. "Gotcha! We'll drive to the airport and you can drive Terrence's truck home with you. How's that sound?"

Crystal smiled a little. "Fine. But why not Lance's jeep?"

Luke grinned at his friend before pointing out "Terrence will stroke when he finds out someone drove his truck besides him. He'd have a seizure when he finds out it was you. That, and I'm not digging through Lance's pockets to find his keys."

"Good point."

Kitty looked over Lance's still sleeping form before phasing her arm through the sheets and through him. She brought her hand back out with keys in hand. "Can I come too? We've got his keys right here after all. Why not get all the vehicles in one trip?"

Luke's face reddened slightly at the idea, which didn't go unnoticed by Crystal, who wasn't happy with the suggestion. "You wanna try and get three people on one motorcycle. Yeah, right."

Kitty looked at Luke for a moment, then turned back to the blonde, her face now red too. "I thought we were talking about the X-van or something. The Professor would let us borrow it, right?"

Jean stuck her nose in the conversation at this point, informing them all "The Professor hasn't even said you guys could go at all. He'll call a cab for the Brotherhood when they've all woken up, Luke. No need to rush her home."

Luke pouted, whining "That's no fun, Jean. These guys could be asleep for hours and this girl needs to go home and shower. No offense." he finished lamely, dodging an angry fist aimed for his shoulder.

"Plenty taken. But I'm with Luke. I want to leave now. You guys can't just keep me here."

Jean threw her hands up in the air in defeat, deigning silence to answer for her. If you're in such a hurry, then get out. What did she care if they all got grounded for not listening to her? She tried to warn them.

Kitty took note of how much Jean was against it and decided she wasn't gonna go after all. She had plans for this weekend and wasn't gonna risk being grounded with extra DR sessions for the chance to drive. "Yeah, I'll just let the guys catch a cab. Three people on a motorcycle seems kinda iffy anyways."

"I've done it before! But the other two weren't as big as you are." Luke looked at Amanda when he said this, his eyes twinkling with hidden mirth at the thinly veiled insult. He stepped out of the way of another fist, this one aimed for his face.

"You call me smelly then call me fat. I'm not even sure why you would offer me a ride at this point." The blonde huffed, standing with her arms crossed and her back to Luke. The guy just shrugged and walked out of the med bay doors, with Amanda following. The other X-men in the hall were dutifully watching their posts. The back of their own eyelids.

"I can't not take you home, you know. It's written somewhere in man law that you can't not take a girl up on her offer to take her home unless you haven't drunk enough for her to look good."

Crystal snorted at the stupid man law, before pointing out "You haven't even drunk anything, so I think that law is void."

Luke smirked to himself before turning a corner and saying "I don't need to drink something for you to look good."

A hand slipped over his shoulder and soon an arm rested over it as Crystal started leaning heavily on him, dragging him down closer to her height. "Look at you, trying to be all witty and charming. That wasn't a half-bad line. How long did you have to look on the internet to find that?"

Luke's grin came back two-fold, before answering "Two hours. But that's only because of all the dirty blonde jokes that kept popping up when I searched for 'best lines to hook up with a blonde girl.' It amazes me that there are people out there willing to even type some of that stuff and post it somewhere. Most of those jokes were just…wrong."

Amanda laughed at Luke's twitching eyebrow, before requesting he told her some of those jokes. "They can't be that bad."

Luke looked at her with a look that said 'yes they can', before saying "I'll tell you some of the nice ones. What's the difference between a blonde and the Titanic?"

Amanda knew where this joke was going and slapped Luke lightly on the shoulder. "You probably thought that was funny, didn't you?"

Luke laughed, still leading the girl towards the garage, and replied with "They wouldn't be jokes if they weren't funny. Then they would be facts."

Amanda faked a huff of her breath before pushing off of Luke and steadying herself to walk beside him. "You're so mean, you know? If I ever took you seriously, you would be the biggest jerk I've ever met. Even the meatheads at school are nicer than you are."

"I'll take that as a compliment. But to be honest, I would never say anything like this around you if you hadn't of started it when we first met. I probably wouldn't talk to you at all if you hadn't jerked me around like you did."

Amanda gave him a doubtful look, but he explain. "Seriously. If you hadn't, I would've naturally assumed that you were a stick. And I don't talk to sticks. Scott's a pretty close exception."

Before the two could continue the conversation any further, they arrived at the garage door. Logan opened it and stood there for a moment, looking at the two teens before giving a look that demanded an explanation.

"I'm taking her home. It's no big deal."

Logan looked back at the girl, before looking at Luke. "It's almost one in the morning. No way. Stop lying kid. There's no way _she's_ letting you take her home. You can't even get to the doorstep."

Luke's face turned beet red while Amanda held back her laughter till it started to hurt her. Then she bellowed out laughing and couldn't stop. Luke calmed down and glared at the Canadian man who still hadn't left yet.

"I hate you so much, Logan. Really. You just have to ruin this for me. Thanks. Thanks a lot."

The man just grunted and walked off towards the kitchen. Amanda finally quit laughing and tugged on Luke's arm, letting him know it was time to go. Luke opened the door and walked over to the side of the garage that was his designated spot. He turned to his soon to be passenger and asked "Do you wanna drive?"

"Huh?" was her intelligent response.

"Do you wanna drive? I understand that some girls have a problem with having to hug all up on the guy in order to hang on or whatever. So if you were one of those girls…"

"Oh I see. You're trying to be slick! You want me to drive so you can feel me up and get away with it! That's clever. Yeah, I'll drive."

Luke's face was red again, but he never handed her the keys, he got on his bike and indicated what was left of the seat for her. "Never mind. Offer is no longer available to you."

The girl wordlessly got on the bike and the two left, driving to the airport. Neither wore helmets. Luke was too cool to wear one and Crystal didn't want helmet hair to go along with bed head. It was a long drive, as the airport was on the completely opposite side of Bayville than the mansion. It gave the two plenty of time to chat, but surprisingly, the two were quiet the entire drive. It was the longest the two had ever been near each other without saying a word.

When they got to the airport and found the massive truck that belonged to Terrence, Crystal slipped off the back of the bike, careful to avoid the exhaust pipe, and unlocked the truck. She grabbed the slip of paper that was tucked behind the windshield wiper, the bill from the airport for leaving a vehicle in the parking lot, and threw it inside the truck before looking back at Luke, who was waiting, but on what he didn't know.

"What are you waiting on? A thank you? A kiss good night? Go back home. I'm sure your professor is worried about you." There wasn't very much sass in her voice, nor any sense of humor in her eyes when she said this. Luke couldn't tell if she was just tired of his company or she was mad at him. But he knew he didn't want to leave.

"The professor knows exactly where I am. He's the most powerful telepath in the world and we're only a small town apart. I'm sure he can still sense me."

A 'hmph' was all the retort he got for that, so the two stared at each other in silence. Luke could've stared all night, but something wasn't right. She was upset about something. And it must've happened on the way to the airport because she was still happy back in the garage.

"Do you wanna talk about something? There's something bothering you, isn't there? Something that just now happened." Being concerned for someone else's feelings wasn't Luke's strong suit, as he had lived alone for several years, but the girl in front of him looked shaken. It wasn't like her.

"It doesn't matter anymore. It shouldn't matter anymore. We passed my dad on the way here. He found out about my powers last week and he saw my actual self. The rock me. We had a fight and he threw me out. All I've got is whatever's at the Brotherhood now. He kept the car too, so now I'm gonna drive Terrence's truck because my dick of a father can't stand his precious daughter anymore. And looking at me now, I think I can see why…" Bitterness was obvious in her voice when she started talking, but anger crept in too.

"I'm dressed like a superhero in tights riding around on a motorcycle with a guy I'm not even supposed to be friends with. I wear a special watch so people don't notice that I sparkle in sunlight. I grow rocks out of the ground and fight other people because I'm told to. Right now, I can't even stand myself… Go home Luke."

Silence was all that could be heard for a moment. It was a long moment, because the two people who were sharing it were both hurting. But the moment did pass and the silence was broken.

"Self pitying doesn't suit you. And even if it did, it doesn't help all that much. You need to go home, shower, and then we can sit down and talk about it."

A laugh came out of the girl, still bitter and it was mostly caused by her current disbelief in the guy right in front of her.

"You don't get it, do you? I don't wanna talk right now. I don't wanna talk ever. I want to just drop of the face of the earth right now. No magical conversation is gonna make me feel better and you aren't no near where good enough to think you can say otherwise. You don't know what it's like to be kicked out by your parent because you ran away from yours! Maybe you still think that the good guys can save the princess and live happily ever after. But I'm not your princess and you're not even the good guy. Leave me alone."

Luke hadn't got off his bike yet, but right then he got off of it and took the few steps from him to where Amanda was standing beside the driver's door to Terrence's truck. He stopped maybe a foot away, just enough distance for him to be close but not too close. He didn't want to get too close in case he accidentally started yelling.

"Shut up. If you don't want to talk to me, then just shut up. If you don't want to talk to the one person out here in the middle of the night to help you get over your pissy mood, then quit bitching me out about it. If this is how you wanna be about it, go talk to Toad for all I care. I don't want to try and relate to make you feel better, to tell you that I ran away from my mom because she was the damn devil and a sorry excuse for a living being. I'm not gonna pat your back and wipe your tears while I tell you about the little sister I left with that bitch. You think you're too hurt for that shit. Fine. I hope you stay that way. Let's see how that turns out for you."

With that, he turned away from the almost teary-eyed girl and got on his bike, revving it's motor and racing out of the airport parking lot, ignoring the girl he left behind that had told him to wait.

He made it back to the mansion and slipped into the garage quietly. Everyone should've been asleep by now, assuming the Brotherhood goons were still asleep. He'd be quiet for their sake, but he really wanted to go to the DR with his tennis ball. When Luke opened the garage door that connected to the mansion, he found that his least favorite instructor was still up and waiting on him, posted on the wall. The man pushed off of it and gave the air a sniff, before facing Luke directly.

"I told you that you wouldn't make it to the doorstep."

Luke wasn't in the proper state of mind to come up with a witty retort, nor was he in the mood to bother. He also wasn't in the mood to bite his tongue, like he should've.

"Fuck you, Logan."

The man grabbed onto Luke's shoulder when the teen tried to walk by, but he wasn't mad. He was surprisingly calm and had a bit of sincerity when he said "She'll come out of it, kid. Just give it time."

Luke jerked his shoulder out of the man's grip and stormed off, leaving the much older man to watch and shake his head.

* * *

><p>The rest of the Brotherhood goons had woken up by morning and had sent Pietro to run to the airport and grab Lance's jeep for them to go home in. It was a simple event, with very little conversation on anybody's part. The Brotherhood didn't want to say anything to their rescuers and the X-men were too busy watching Logan's DR session with Luke to watch them leave. Storm escorted the boys to the door and when they left, she went to go see the session herself. If it had gotten the entire mansion's attention, it must've been impressive.<p>

And oh it was. Logan had really outdone himself. The difficulty was something only Storm would deem safe for Scott or Wolverine himself, but Luke was doing well enough out there. There wasn't an objective so much as just survival and avoid being tagged by any of the machinery that had come to life for the session. Logan was in the room himself, making sure his student would be safe, but giving him free reign to demolish as much as he had the heart for.

Scott had questioned the Professor as to why exactly Luke and Logan were the only ones down there, but the Professor didn't really say. He just told them that Wolverine had personally requested it and that Luke hadn't disagreed.

Luke himself was on the room floor panting and soaked in sweat. The DR was like hell programmed into a computer program. His arms felt like they were on fire. Every move he made hurt but he wasn't quitting till Wolverine did. The man was battling his way through the machinery with his Adamantium claws without too much effort. Luke could hardly notice the man's stamina beginning to decline.

The gravity manipulating mutant wiped the sweat beads over his eyes, simultaneously making a force that would shatter the metal pellets fired from the turret. They weren't lethal of course, but they stung like fire. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed hold of a gyrating fan blade that was making its way towards him and used his powers to tug it off of its moving base. Using a motion that made him look like he was about to lasso something, he kept the blade spinning till he saw his target. A pair of tentacle claws had come out of the wall and were about to attack, only for one to be severed by the flying fan blade.

Luke panted as his arm dropped to his side, temporarily useless. The other tentacle was still there and it lunged at him. Luke jumped to the side, but was too slow and the claw caught him by the ankle and jerked him upside down. Groaning, Luke lifted himself up and grabbed a hold of the tentacle and began to add on weight as fast as he could. The claw tried to fling him about, but he kept a firm grip by attracting the metal to his palms. The weight eventually became to much for the claw and it creaked to the ground, struggling as it's mechanics broke down under the strain.

Luke would've cheered at his victory, but was too busy wheezing for air. He ended up being tackled to the side by Wolverine as another claw came out. The man raised his arm and gave a signal, cutting off the simulation. The man then tugged Luke to his feet, where the teen simply leaned over and clutched his knees, still panting for breath and adding being crushed by Logan to the list of injuries. And Logan weighed a lot for being such a short man.

"Hurry up and shower off. I don't wanna hear anything about you being late to school today just because you got some special attention."

Luke just glared at the man as he walked off, heading towards the control room. After catching his breath, he went to the locker rooms and changed out of his uniform and into some sweats and a t-shirt. He couldn't wait for the shower upstairs. Grabbing a towel to dry off his still wet forehead and face, he started to make his way to the elevator until he heard a voice in his head. And it certainly wasn't his conscious.

'_Luke, I'd like for you to come to the control room. The team needs to discuss this morning's session and we've got a surprise for you.'_

'_Sure thing, Professor.' _Luke thought back, but he hoped the telepath wasn't paying attention to what he was actually feeling. The man might've had a heart attack if he knew.

The control room was quiet when he entered, but everyone was standing around waiting on Wolverine to break down the session and explain what was going on. There was monitor set up to show video feed of what was happening out there. Right then the video was showing a less than appealing shot of Luke barely triumphing over two spinning fan blades.

Logan cleared his throat and started his explanation of the obvious. "Today's session showed everybody just how champ here works under pressure. He gets tired easy and if he uses his powers extensively, disables himself for a short period of time. There are a couple of reasons we had him run the session this morning. Anyone want to guess why?"

Jean spoke up and said "So we can know how to work with him better. If we know what he can and can't do, then our teamwork will be more definite."

"Textbook answer. Nice job, Red. There are two more reasons."

When no one answered as to what they may be, Logan provided the second one. "The second reason is that Luke pissed me off last night."

The team laughed at this, but Luke just glared at the man from his spot. He was sulking right now and Wolverine had the nerve to pick on him. Didn't he know he was supposed to let a teenager sulk in peace? The third reason was filled by Xavier himself.

"The last reason was to finally fully initiate our youngest student onto the team and to give him his codename. From now on, his field name will be Gyro. Welcome to the X-men."

The others (except Logan and Rouge, who never cheer) in the room cheered and congratulated the newly dubbed Gyro, who quit sulking enough to ask "So the entire time I've been here has just been a hazing period?"

The room just laughed and everyone began to talk to each other, with most of the conversations being steered towards Rouge, who had just witnessed the Danger Room for the first time. Luke hadn't ever apologized for being so harsh with her during the whole 'Kurt trapped in another dimension' thing, nor was he going to. Likewise, she wasn't on good terms with him either. Luke slipped out of the room unnoticed and went up to his own and took a shower.

The hot water was relaxing and dulled some of the pain he was still feeling. He finished up his hygiene routine and got dressed for school, grabbing a bowl of cereal before he left on his motorcycle, not saying a word to anyone.

School looked to be painful and boring for Luke today and the first bell sounded like the world just laughing at the teen's plight. He took his seat in English and was going to take his customary nap, but he found his arms were to sore to sleep on. How delightful. To kill time, he tried taking some notes. He dug his pencil out of his bag and held it between his fingers, but when he moved his arms to properly write, a muscle twitched and began to burn like someone had soaked it in gasoline and lit it on fire.

Luke dropped his pencil onto his desk with a clatter and clutched his arm, using his other hand to rub the burning spot. Amanda looked over at him and whispered "Are you okay?", but he ignored her and focused on what his teacher was saying, even if it was incredibly boring.

The class was soon over and Luke moved onto his next one, ignoring every attempt at conversation, which there weren't many. In the hall, he heard Evan talk about his Social project and some recorder. Luke just ignored the skater and went through his day in a sour mood.

The rest of the week was mostly the same, but Evan kept shoving his camera in everyone's face. He was outside playing his game with his tennis ball while Wolverine and Cyclops ran a practice on the drive. Why they couldn't of done it inside, he didn't know. He heard Evan tearing down the drive on his skateboard after them, catching it all on his video camera. He didn't pay them any mind but he turned around to see what was going on when Cyclops shouted "Heads up!"

A saw blade from the launcher had been deflected off of Wolverine's claws and sent arcing right towards the corner Luke was playing at. At the speed it was hurtling through the air, it would cut straight through him and leave one heck of a scar on the house behind him. There was hardly anytime to react, but Luke had instinctively thrown his hands up to shield himself, a futile gesture that was all the motion needed for his powers to work. A gravitational push slowed the saw blade as if it was cutting through molasses and gave Luke enough time to consciously move his hands in a gesture to smack the blade out of the air and into the ground, where it dug a small trench and finally stopped spinning.

His arm now tired and hurting, he retreated inside, not before flipping off everybody outside. The next incident of the week was when some Werecat look-a-like busted in the front yard and called out Wolverine. Luke had been inside when he heard the commotion but didn't bother to respond when the rest of the team did. He just put in his headphones and reread an old book he had.

On Friday, Luke had let his mood lighten up a little, making small talk with people now and then. The Professor invited him to see the school play, which Luke accepted only because Kitty had begged him to go. The play was alright, but Luke could tell that the Professor was pulling him out of his sour mood. And in a way, Luke was fine with that. He'd spent a week feeling bad and ignoring all his friends. It was time to get over it and go back to having a little fun.

* * *

><p>Philadelphia was a nice and bustling city, with plenty of people and plenty of noise to cover up the conversation happening inside a small diner's reserved room. There were six people sitting at a table, but none of them were planning on eating. They didn't even have menus. They were there to discuss business.<p>

"You've made it to our team and now it is time for us to see if you can cut it with us or not. Our first assignment is to patch up a security breach in Denver. I hear you are familiar with the situation?" A dark figure covered in an all black cloak had spoken this.

"Yeah. I was there competing when it happened. Team busted in through the roof and rescued some loser fighters before I could dispose of them myself. One of them hit me pretty hard with a red optic beam."

"Our team has encountered that group before. They belong to Xavier's School of Gifted Youngsters in Bayville. One former Network member is now residing there. The assignment doesn't call for us to eliminate them, but to offer them the chance to have their minds wiped of the incident. Apparently, Xavier has been tossing some weight around and the higher ups want this done carefully. But in case they don't cooperate, you five are to be there in force. For now, Gameboy here will need to be incorporated into our team strategies and training. This will take some time, but know that we will strike the Institute soon."

"How soon?" the Denver mutant, now named Gameboy, asked.

"Soon enough…"

* * *

><p>AN: Ominous, huh? I really liked how this chapter turned out, even though I had such a hard time starting it off. It's got a little of everything. Humor, angst, romance, and a cliffhanger. But fret not, your dear author will continue to dole it all out with lots of love. And to be clear, Luke and Amanda aren't a pairing. Not yet and I'm not sure if ever. For now, think of them as you and that opposite gender friend that friend zoned you. You can flirt as much as you want, but you're still friend zoned. Let me know if you thought this wass any ood or if I need to just quit. I'd really like to know. Chapter title is a song off of Bad Meets Evil's album Hell: the Sequel. Last chapter shouldn't of needed me telling you where the reference is. . Alright, BigWillis, out!<p> 


	15. Pain

AN: It has begun! Everyone, prepare! Another school year has rolled around and now I can go back to my routine of school, work, then play instead of work and then sleep in shower. Gonna go to sleep tonight at 9 o freakin clock. That'll be the first in a long time. So Maybe you should do the same for when you start back school, if you're still attending one. If not, then go party it up. Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of it's products. Hip hip hooray!

Chapter 15

Pain

Oh, it was a beautiful day out. The sun was shinning, the birds were chirping, and a nice breeze was rolling through. Nature was at it's finest. Storm had done a magnificent job making sure the weather would be perfect for this weekend. Well, what's so important about this weekend, one might wonder. This weekend was the one weekend of the school year that Bayville school district offered it's own survival training camp, the infamous Ironback survival camp hosted by the resident Sergeant Hawk.

It was gonna be a sucky day, Luke decided. Nearly as soon everyone had gotten off of the bus and arrived, the surprisingly still well in shape old man started yelling in their faces about what they would be doing. Whoop dee do. He loved hiking, dangerous rivers, and rock climbing and did those as personal hobbies because they built character (Sarcasm at it's finest). The man continued to yell in their faces while he appointed Scott Sunders the leader of the group for his scholastic achievements. The purposeful mistake almost made Luke laugh, but when the old man's head swiveled around to look at him though his black shades, he straightened up.

He didn't like Sergeant Hawk by any means and he didn't like Scott being in charge either. Scott and Luke weren't friends but they weren't enemies either. Scott had the tendency to play too close to the rules and kept everyone on a tight collar during DR sessions. Luke could understand that some people needed a strong leader, but he didn't want to be shepherded around like a lost lamb by Scott. He was his own man for crying out loud. He had years of personal experience to guide him in any situation. And now Scott was gonna be calling the shots here too? Like that's gonna roll over well with everyone else.

Thinking of that made Luke look over to the Brotherhood lackeys that were standing in line. All of them had signed up for the camp when they heard the X-men were doing it. The group must've had something to prove, not that Luke could really see why. Maybe it was some spiteful action against Mystique after she left them to be rescued by the X-men instead of doing it herself?

Either way, they were there and they were sure to be a thorn in his side later. Maybe they could all get outta here before their secrets were exposed. The sergeant finished his speech and gave everyone ten minutes to throw their bags in the log cabins that made up the majority of the camps, then report to the rec field. Immediately, everyone started complaining. Kitty didn't think she'd make it out of the camp alive, Evan complained that he was a city kid, Kurt wailed about what they had done to deserve this, then Rouge planned to steal the school bus and go AWOL. Luke snorted to himself in mild amusement while Scott tried to run damage control and reign the group back in. Jean tried to help by saying that the Professor endorsed this place. They were supposed to take comfort in the fact that Xavier help fund a torture camp?

The team quit their bellyaching and grabbed their stuff, moving it to the cabins that made up the majority of camp. Inside the cabins was about as bland as could be expected. Bunk beds, thin mattresses, and a rather unpleasant smell to it, like old vomit.

"This is gonna be one heck of a weekend, huh guys?"

Evan and Kurt both grunted in agreement while they tossed their bags inside and made their way to the field. Already, the others were gathering around the former military man. Once everyone had gathered around, he began to call out orders, dividing up the students into groups. One set of teams would go do sprints around a marked track, while the other teams went and did the rope climb.(1) As luck would have it, the two teams sent to do the rope climb were the X-men and Brotherhood.

The sergeant picked members from each team as to who would go on the rope climb. He picked Luke, Kurt, Jean and Scott from the X-men to climb and Fred, Terrence, and Lance from the Brotherhood to climb. The objective was to climb the rope, zip line down to the rafts, then cross the river to the finish. The first two from each team would be the ones to board the raft and cross the river. At the sergeant's whistle, the two teams started their climb. When the Blob got a hold on his rope and began to pull himself up, the whole rope climb began to sag under because of the large teen's weight. His rope snapped and he fell to the ground, where he complained "I'm not built for this kinda stuff."

The others who were already halfway up recovered and reached the top. Terrence was the first one on the zip line, with Luke following soon after along with Lance and Scott. Luke weighed himself down to boost his speed on the zip line, zipping past the others and hitting the bottom first. He got a head start untying the raft while Terrence landed and did the same. Scott landed and made it to the raft just as Luke freed it. Lance made it to his raft and asked "You guys swim?"

Scott answered with a curious "Yeah, why?"

"Pity." Lance sent tremors at the two, who were sent into the water. Thankfully, Luke still had his hand around the raft's rope and pulled it over to him and climbed in. He then fished Scott out of the water and tugged the larger teen to safety. Luke grabbed the paddles and began to row the little rubber raft after the two Brotherhood while Scott sat at the front of the raft, ready to take a shot with his optic beam. Terrence must've seen him, or maybe was just trying to rub their lead in the X-geeks face, so he tensed up his arm before digging the paddle deep into the water and flinging a ton of it behind him, soaking an already wet Scott and blinding him.

Luke rowed in vain as the Brotherhood landed and trotted through the finish line banner. The two goons turned to each other and gave each other a hard high five, which left both of them shaking their stinging hands. The X-men docked soon after and made it to their dry teammates and looked over at the cheering Brotherhood. After they finished cheering, the team of misfits came over to rub it in the losers face.

"So how'd you like that bath, huh Summers? Maybe that'll teach you some scholastic achievements." Lance grinned at his soaked rival.

Jean stepped in for her fellow redhead's defense saying "You know if you hadn't of used your powers, you would've lost."

Amanda stepped in flipping her hair over her shoulder and smirking. "Whatever. You're just mad because your little boy toy isn't as perfect as you are."

Jean cocked an eyebrow and said "Well in case you didn't notice, your 'boy toy' lost right alongside mine."

Luke butted in with a "Hey! I'm nobodies toy. I am on occasion someone's boyfriend whenever they pay to me be, but I am never a boy toy!"

Terrence chimed in with "She was 12 years old you know. I'm pretty sure that doesn't count for anything but getting you on the sex offender list."

Luke glared at Terrence before saying "I was only a year older than her. And her dad still came to me before he came to you with that job, didn't she? So maybe you shouldn't run your trap that much until you get letters in the mail asking for you to take a girl out and get paid to do it."

Terrence smirked before pointing out "Her dad wanted an inconspicuous nobody to watch over his little girl at the fair in case she got mugged or kidnapped for being the CEO's daughter. I declined the job because it was too low grade for me. It was more befitting of someone with your little talent."

About that time, Sergeant Hawk blew his whistle and the little trash talking session was over. He then ordered the teams to stop their childish bickering and to drop and give him 60.

"You can't be serious, can you old man? We didn't sign up for the Marines." Terrence complained, taking a stand against the much bigger and a lot broader man.

The man leaned down and poked one of his meaty finger into Terrence's puffed out chest, deflating him a little. "The Marines would've already chewed up and spit out punks like you. Now I said drop and give me 100."

"This is bullcrap."

Regardless of his last statement, Terrence dropped to the ground just like the rest of his teammates and started to do his pushups. The group had collectively gotten maybe ten done before the Sergeant blew his whistle and shouted "Who told you that pushups counted if they weren't called out?"

The students all groaned before beginning to call out in unison "One…Two…Three…Four…"

Luke couldn't help but think to himself about what he was thinking about earlier today. _'This day really does suck.'_

The teens finally made it to sixty pushups and all fell on their faces or rolled over on their backs. Luke sat up to see Terrence still going, counting through another forty pushups without slowing his pace. When he finished, the sergeant ordered "On your feet."

Everyone complied as the man began to pace around the group, preaching "Here at Ironback, we've got ways of weeding out the weaklings and punks," He gave Terrence a hard look, which the teen promptly returned two fold. "We fight it out in the wilderness, against the wilderness. You brats want to prove how tough you are? Fine. The first team to bring back a flag I planted on top of Mount Humiliation and bring it back to me wins."

"Cake walk. My team can take the afternoon off. I'll get it myself." Quicksilver boasted.

"Not if I get there first." Kurt interjected, ready to butt heads with the Brotherhood again.

Luke face palmed at the sight. Did those two want to get more pushups just after they finished the last set?

"It must be the whole team, or no one!" Hawk shouted, settling the small dispute between the two teens. "As proof I want a snapshot of the whole team at the top. Are we clear?"

'_Does this man ever get tired of listening to himself shout?'_ Luke wondered while chorusing with the others "Sir, yes Sir!"

"You leave in five from opposite trails. Be ready." With that, the man strode off, eager to go yell at other students. The two mutant teams split up as well, making tracks to the trail starting points. Everyone wanted to win this little challenge and rub it in the other team's face.

"Better say your prayers, Sunder. Cause you aren't coming back from that hike."

"Oh, you got something to say, Rock tumbler? Cause I…" Scott retorted reaching for his shades only to have his arm caught by Jean, who was still trying to play mediator.

"We don't need our powers to beat you losers." Lance said, getting in Scott's face.

"Fine. We'll play it straight then. And you know what, we'll wave at you from the top."

The two turned from each other while Jean smiled and said "Good. That's the deal. We're all competing fairly. No powers. And I personally am very proud of…"

"Come on, Jean!" Scott muttered angrily, jerking the girl out of her blathering about fairness and marching her over to the trail starting point. The signal was given for them to start by a flare gun and Scott took off running, making tracks on the already beaten trail.

Everyone else followed behind him and tried to keep up. From a safe distance out of his earshot, the team started complaining.

"Jeez, you guys must've never pushed yourselves that hard before. This is some simple running. Just follow Scott and don't get left behind. That's all you have to do." Luke was getting sick of all the whining. Sure he hated following Scott when he was being so stubborn, but he wasn't gonna voice his complaints. That would be weak of him.

Everyone but Jean shot Luke dark looks while Jean herself caught up to where Luke was running ahead of the others. "Thanks. I know the others don't have a lot of team spirit right now, so I appreciate all the support can get to keep this a fair race."

Luke turned to the girl and chuckled a little at his senior. "This isn't a fair race. The Brotherhood are definitely using their powers and we're stuck following our leader who's been blinded his passion to win so he can't see that his team is falling behind."

Jean frowned a little at this and said "So are you saying you'd be a better leader?"

"Oh, of course not. But Summers isn't exactly setting a good example. I'm gonna go try and talk to him. Try to bring up the rear and push them forward. They aren't mad at you yet."

With that, Luke put more effort into his running and tried to gain ground on Scott, who was still out of earshot. Jean slipped back behind Evan, who was last, and started urging him forward by running right behind him.

* * *

><p>The Brotherhood had made great time going up the mountain side and were using their powers, much Like Luke had predicted. Toad and Springload were jumping up the Cliffside with ease, spotting easy paths for Blob to take. Blob had a make-shift harness around himself, with ropes leading to Crystal, Avalanche, and Quicksilver scaling the Cliffside behind him.<p>

"One slip and we're all dead. Crushed by the Blob." Quicksilver complained

"This is the fastest way up the mountain, Pietro. We're gonna beat Summers and the X-geeks so bad."

"This is also the smelliest way up the mountain." Crystal noted. And indeed, hanging directly below the Blob after he'd had lunch was a guaranteed assault on the nose.

Blob mad it to the top of the cliff and began tugging the ropes, hauling his dangling teammates to the cliff's edge. From there, they saw a mine shaft entrance that had been marked off.

"Toad and Springload are checking for a shortcut." Blob informed the three. Almost as soon as he said it, Toad came back out and croaked "There's a tunnel in there that's like a stairway to the top. Terrence is checking it out to make sure it's safe."

"Now we're talking!" Lance clenched his fist in excitement. The sight of him holding that flag was playing out in his mind. Summers as his group of loser friends wouldn't stand a chance!

"Well lets go then. I can't wait to see what our Soccer Queen's reaction is gonna be when we beat her and her little friends to the top." Crystal chimed, beaming happily.

"Looks like we don't need Mystique's help to beat the X-men. Just a little teamwork and bam!" Pietro shouted, before slipping through the warning signs that covered the mine entrance. The rest of the team followed, plunging into the dark tunnel.

* * *

><p>At the top of the cliff, Scott was waiting with Luke and Kurt for the others to catch up. Glancing up to the mountain top, Scott saw nothing but bright sunlight, even with his shades. He turned to Kurt and asked "Pop up top and see if the flag is still there."<p>

Kurt looked uneasy about the order, looking back at Jean, Rouge and Kitty catching up. "You know Jean won't like this." With a **Bamf**, he was gone, then back again. "Its still there. And no sign of the enemy either."

"Alright! Evan forget the equipment, just spike the rope all the way to the top. We can still beat them!"

Evan looked over at his leader like he was suffering from a heat stroke, asking "Are you sure? Ah, you look pretty sure to me."

Luke just sighed. It seemed that his talk with Scott went right through one ear and out the other. Apparently, slowing down for your teammates and thinking clearly didn't stop Cyclops from wanting to win so bad. Oh well, he tried.

Evan tied the rope to a spike and shot it pretty far up the mountain side, where it wedged in good and firm. Grabbing the rope, Scott started to climb, saying "That flag is ours!" He turned when he heard no one following him and saw everyone looking at him disappointedly. So much for their fearless leader who always played by the rules and did the right thing.

Jean just turned her head up to Scott and began climbing the mountain the old fashioned way. With a groan, Luke followed behind her, using his powers to help him stick to the rock whenever he started to slip. Gravitational attraction sure helped, even though everyone had just given Scott the cold shoulder for using powers. At least Luke wasn't using his powers _blatantly_ like Scott had gotten Evan to do. Now he just had to make his way up the mountain without getting distracted by the view.

* * *

><p>The Brotherhood had made it to the tunnel shaft that went up, where Terrence was waiting. Before the team could start to climb up on the worn wooden ladder steps, he said "The way up top is blocked because of a few loose boulders. I can't move them with just one arm."<p>

Lance turned between him and Toad and said "You idiots! You guys probably just caused us to lose!"

Crystal put her hand on Lance's shoulder and calmed him, saying "Easy, Avalanche. Calm down before you bring the mountain down on top of us. I'll just go up there with Terrence and make sure he doesn't fall while using both hands to move the boulder, ok? No need to get us all killed inside a mine shaft."

Lance just grunted while the two mutant of choice began to climb. The other four guys followed soon after, but kept enough room for Crystal to have space to work with. Once Terrence got as high as he could, Crystal closed her eyes and concentrated on growing crystals in a flat platform right beneath the last step Terrence had his foot on. The crystal grew all the way across the shaft, giving Terrence a firm place to stand.

With much more ease than his first attempt, Terrence pushed on the boulders at the top, making them rock out of the hole they had formed. As the boulder began to move back and forth, it slipped out of it's self made groove and came tumbling down the shaft itself. Terrence threw himself to the side of the shaft as the several hundred pounds boulder crashed through the crystal platform and hurtled towards the bottom of the shaft, where it landed with a resounding _thud_.

"You guys ok?" He called, checking of his friends. They had started to grow on him a little and he didn't mind calling them his friends now. They all annoyed him at times, but he was positive he did the same to them. He made it a point to, some days.

"Yeah! Now hurry up before you get us all killed!" Pietro shouted back. The team climbed to the mountain top and found the flag was still there. Victory!

* * *

><p>After making their way up the mountainside with nothing but dirty hands and strong backs, the X-men made it to the top of another cliff. An tremor caused the mountainside to shake, which in turn caused Evan, the last person climbing to fall. The teen would've surely plummeted to his death had Luke not grabbed onto him with his powers and flung him back up with a quick jerking motion. Jean caught the boy out of the air and set him down gently while Luke rubbed at his arm.<p>

Kitty and Kurt rushed over to make sure he was okay, while Scott thought out loud. "That tremor must've been Lance. They've gotta be nearby. Jean, levitate us all to the top."

Ignoring the order, Jean stood up to Scott and said "No way, Scott. Just forget it."

"What's the difference, Jean? You just used your powers and we know that the Brotherhood are using theirs. What's the big deal?"

Indignant, Jean shot back "That was life and death! This contest between you and Lance isn't. Seems like X-men outta know the difference." That was a nice little lecture for the leader to chew on.

"Haha, hey Summers! How's the view from down there? Get used to this, baby, because from now on, the Brotherhood are always gonna be on top!" The team looked up to see the Brotherhood making the final climb to the flag.

Scott's jaw dropped for a moment, before it tightened up like a bank vault. "You guys cheated! Your tremors nearly got Evan killed."

Terrence spoke up from his spot on the mountaintop claiming "Lance didn't use his powers. A boulder fell and nearly squished us. That's what caused the tremor. Looks like you X-men are the only cheaters on this mountain."

"Us? Cheaters? Are you outta your mind?" Scott questioned, bamboozled by the logic Terrence was using.

"We saw the red head save Daniels. She used her powers, so she cheated. We won fair and square. Looks like you guys really do suck."

Jean grabbed Scott's shoulder and tugged him back before he could do anything rash, like start a fight.

"There isn't time for this, Scott. Just let it go. We made it to the top anyways."

The Brotherhood cheered over their victory and waved the flag around like crazy. They had a pretty good day after all. They showed up the X-men in both challenges and now they were gonna take a picture for proof. The team posed for the picture from the camera Pietro was holding when suddenly the X-jet came into the background.

Through the speakers, Storm called out "X-men. Professor X is in danger. So is Mystique." She added that last bit in hopes to gain the Brotherhood as well. Against the Juggernaut, they could use all the help they could get.

Terrence snorted and answered for his team. "We're through with that hag. Let her die with Xavier for all I care. You X-geeks can go run home to your big fancy mansion now. We've already beat you losers."

With that, the Brotherhood started their trek back down the mountain while the defeated X-men all clambered into the X-jet, with a little levitating help from Jean. Once inside and seated, Storm began to go over the situation with the team while they suited up.

"An unstoppable mutant named Juggernaut has come after the Professor for revenge against imprisoning him years ago. Wolverine is attempting to stop him, but we fear that he won't be enough. Apparently, Mystique is trying to use him to get her hands on Cerebro again. Juggernaut has turned on her, it seems, so she may be of help to us."

Luke laughed at that suggestion, before asking "So what does this Juggernaut guy do, exactly? And why did the Professor lock him up?"

"The Juggernaut is the Professor's step-brother, Cain Marko. Cain grew angry with Xavier once his relationship with his father turned sour and Charles was left with all of the inheritance. Cain didn't have an active X-gene, but he awakened it with mysticism and now with his enhanced X-gene, he is unstoppable. The only way to beat him is with Charles' mind, but the Juggernaut wears a helmet to protect himself from this. You will have to get that helmet off of him to have any chance of winning this."

'_Enhanced X-gene? Why does that sound familiar? That's gotta mean something, right?'_ Luke questioned to himself as the mansion drew nearer. His inability to remember the term was pushed aside as the team rushed into the Danger Room, which was already trashed. Logan was face first on the ground, looking sorely defeated.

"Take a break, Wolverine. We've got it from here." Scott called out, getting the attention of the huge man in red who was towering over Mystique and Xavier. Way to blow the element of surprise Scott.

The man reached down to grab Xavier out of his wheelchair, but found himself held back by an invisible force that slowly lifted him up into the air. Jean managed to gasp out before she lost control "I'm losing him!"

Luke responded quickly and ran to the unstoppable just as he touched ground and tucked his shoulder in for a tackle, adding as much weight to himself as he could. The 800 lbs tackle hardly stumbled the man, but it gave Kurt enough time to port onto the Juggernaut's shoulder and grab a latch. The Juggernaut quickly threw him off and refocused on Luke, who was trying to slip all the extra weight off.

Unable to move himself in time, he could only watch in horror as the Juggernaut began his charge at his much smaller form. Crossing his arms in a meager defense, he was thrown back violently into the now dented DR wall and slumped down to the floor, his head swimming and his body aching. His arms were surely broken after that, so Luke was for all intents and purposes useless. His main medium to use his powers were now gone, even if he felt like moving. And after that hit from Juggernaut, he decidedly did not want to move.

Cyclops jumped into the fray, firing a steady burst into the unprepared Juggernaut's shoulder that annoyed the man at best. The hulking figure grabbed the remains of a DR robot arm and threw it at Scott. Ever the evasive one, Scott leapt out of the way as the arm crashed down on his previous location and exploded. Luke felt some of the shrapnel from where he was still lying on the ground, but could hardly notice it due to the pain he was still feeling in his arms.

Kitty phased down beneath the floor and snuck up on the oblivious Juggernaut, pulling his feet beneath the floor and stumbling the large man. Kurt, once again teleported to grab a latch, leaving only two unattended to. He jumped off of the man and scurried out of his reach as the man freed himself from the floor. Storm created a vortex around the man before he could start moving and toppled him, where her nephew was lying in wait. Evan sprouted several spikes from his arm before shooting one at a latch and knocking it lose.

He shot for the other one as well, but only hit the helmet, ringing it loud and irritating the already angry Juggernaut. The man charged and would've stomped Evan into the dirt if not for a timely Kurt porting him to safety. The reappeared across the room, but the Juggernaut followed them and began to give chase. Scott fired off more blasts, but they didn't even stumble the man once he was in motion.

Jean tried to lift him into the air again, with Storm adding more wind and even a few bolts of lightening, but again nothing stopped the Juggernaut. Luke watched all of this from his spot on the wall. It was almost funny seeing such a big guy chasing around two kids. If only their lives weren't on the line. If only Nightcrawler wasn't getting tired. If only they had a way to beat this guy.

Mystique was ever so slowly slipping away from Charles and closer to the broken door of the Danger Room. She had no reason to be here. Her mission had failed with the destruction of Cerebro. So she was going to slip out of here before she ended up splattered on the walls like the X-men would soon be. She looked over to Luke, who was simply sitting against the wall, still dazed from his earlier hit. Mystique was not going to let that happen to her.

Then she saw Luke begin to push himself up off the floor, using the wall to support himself since he couldn't steady himself with his arms. What was he doing? Surely he wasn't foolish enough to attack that monster of a man again. Not in the condition he was in. But yet there he was, struggling to stay upright, but going back into a fight that would kill him. She really needed to get out of here. Stupid X-men ideals of self-sacrifice or fighting to protect others made her nauseous.

Charles idly noted the departure of Mystique in preference to watch his students face his step-brother. It hurt him inside to see his students in such peril due his own cause. Especially watching Gyro. And now it seemed the team's luck had run out. The Juggernaut had started his march and wasn't going to stop till he had Charles' head. Charles then felt his powers pick something up in the back of his head and the telepath tuned in on it.

'_Professor! Can you hear me?'_

'_Yes, I can, Luke. What is it? Are you ok?'_

Luke's thoughts turned darker for a split moment, from which he bit back a retort about his current condition, Xavier assumed, before communicating his wishes mentally. _'Tell Jean to throw me whenever the Juggernaut starts his charge.'_

The man did as asked, but couldn't help but ask what his youngest student had in mind. He didn't get an answer and felt determination bloom forth in Luke's mind.

Jean responded to the telepathic message from Xavier wordlessly, turning to her teammate on the wall. He gave her a nod to assure her of his wishes. Jean reached out and gripped onto Luke telekinetically, before watching the Juggernaut, who was still pursuing the team's teleporter and skater. The man had stopped himself from running into a wall and was about to turn face to start his run again, shrugging off Evan's spikes, Cyclops's optic blast, and Storm's hailstorm. Jean looked back again at Luke, who only gave her an exasperated look that told her to throw away.

Jean did. She picked Luke up a few feet, before tossing him airborne. She made sure to keep him upright, as she was sure he had a plan for being in the air. The teen was sent flying and ended up being directly over Juggernaut who was picking up speed going to other way.

Luke kicked out with his right leg, stopping himself in the air and sending him backwards, where he turned in the air. Before he could start to fall, he kicked out with his other leg and propelled himself forward to keep up with the Juggernaut, who had just stopped his charge yet again in order to locate Kurt. Luke was practically right on top of the man and was falling right on top of him. His legs were dangling uselessly beneath him, but that was fine for Luke's plan. He was sticking with the tried and true method to knock the Juggernaut down.

Adding on weight to himself once again, Luke only prayed in his head that he had enough in time. Sure enough, when he landed awkwardly onto the Juggernaut's shoulders, the man was sent tumbling forward and tripped, falling onto the ground with a loud thud. Luke landed much more gracefully, face first and he had couldn't use his arms, nor his legs. The pain was minor compared to the now stoked fire that was burning in his arms that had him rolling on the floor in agony.

Rouge had picked up on Luke's slack and ran forward, grabbing the last latch and taking the helmet with her too. The Juggernaut, angry at the loss of his helmet, pushed himself up and began his run to Charles, deciding to end it before it became too late. Midway through, he had to stop running to clutch his head from the obvious mental pain he was feeling from the Professor. He slumped to the floor, subdued and unconscious.

The Danger Room was then filled with a resounding cheer. All of students, save one, began to celebrate, high fiving the nearest person or giving each other hugs. Xavier seemed quite pleased as well, but he had to take stock of the situation quickly. Cain would only be unconscious for so long and there were other things to attend to. He gave out orders to his X-men, even though he longed to let them rest. Their work wasn't quite yet done.

"Logan, would you, Jean, and Scott like to escort me as I take Juggernaut back to his cell? I would very much appreciate the company." The three said yes immediately and began the collective project of moving Juggernaut. What a pain. Xavier turned to his other X-men and asked "Ororo, I fear Gyro needs some serious medical attention. I'll arrive as soon as I can, but please take him to the hospital and ask for Dr. Chase Masters.(2) He'll tend to all of Luke's conditions without question. Students, if you would go with Luke to keep him company."

Everyone agreed, except Luke, who had yet to be pulled off of the floor. He wasn't doing it himself. He was just gonna rest until he felt better. Then he felt hands on him, tugging gently at his shoulders till they rolled him over. He let out a groan in complaint, not meeting anyone in the eyes as they looked down on him. Kurt offered a hand to him and asked "Are you all right, Luke? You're arms, are they broken?"

"I sure hope so Kurt. If they aren't then I never want a broken bone I my body, cause this right here hurts. You're not pulling me up by these things. You could drag me by my hair before I let you pick me up by my arms."

Evan and Scott scooped him off of the floor by his shoulders and back and he swayed a bit on his own feet. He carefully took a step forward and felt his leg muscles give way under pressure. With his healing factor so distracted by his arms, his leg muscles would probably take forever to grow back. What a drag. After they changed into normal clothes, Storm began to shepherd her students to the garage where the X-van would be waiting. Evan and Kurt helped Luke hobble his way there, much to his shame. He felt pitiful. Thankfully, no one said anything about his injuries and they all tried to cheer him up.

None of them could be as mean as he could be and pick on someone who had already been kicked down. His friends were all a lot nicer than that. Evan even bothered to tell the story of when he broke his leg skateboarding. Everyone laughed and the mood was a light one. When they arrived at the hospital, which was relatively quick considering the distance, (Luke blamed this on Ororo's insane driving), they used the emergency room entrance. They found the receptionist area in the midst of chaos, but thankfully were able to get someone's attention quickly. Storm did the talking and got the team sent to the office of the doctor the Professor had instructed them to find.

His office was on the third floor, but when they found it, there was no mistaking why the Professor had sent them there. The office door was open and the room's owner was waiting on them all. He was dressed in formal attire topped with the traditional doctor's coat. The man had an impeccable handlebar mustache to boot, and his round glasses made all of the kids want to snicker. His British accent was icing on the cake.

"It seems that you would be the group Charles told me to watch for. You, young sir, come with me. I've already had a room cleared and marked with your name. I'll be in there momentarily to run some tests, even though I feel that your injuries are already obvious."

Luke left his friends behind to go to a room that was darkened and a machine took up the middle of the room. A room lit up on the side, enclosed by glass and filled with a table covered by monitors and screens. The doctor had slipped into the room and started up the computers before instructing Luke through the glass.

"Place your arms on X-ray. I need to know where they're broken at so I can set them."

Luke grit his teeth and did as told. In a flash, the doctor took the X-ray. Luke let his arms rest by his side where they were much more comfortable. The doctor cut the lights out and stepped out of his room, so Luke did the same. The doctor led him back to his office, where the team was still waiting.

The doctor went to his desk and began clicking on his computer before pulling an image of the X-ray that appeared on a larger monitor mounted on his wall. He then began pointing out all the fractures and breaks.

"You did a number on your arms, bucko. You'll be right as rain eventually, but you'll just have to tough it out till then. No surgery is required, but I will set them in a sling and let your body do the rest."

He gave the group a look before explaining further "I was Charles' roommate back at Oxford. I saw the same things in his studies of genetics as he did. He's kept me up to date on his students in case there was ever an emergency and you needed a doctor that Charles wouldn't have to adjust."

With that, the doctor left his room and went off, presumably to go get the slings for Luke. Luke turned to look at Storm, hoping she could enlighten them on his doctor. He seemed to be in such a hurry with his practice. He didn't explain anything to him or ask any questions. He just went with whatever he thought was right. That kinda made Luke nervous, as he didn't trust the man, even if the Professor did. Ororo just shrugged.

The man came back, but before anyone could react, he pulled a syringe out of his pocket and stabbed it into Luke's leg. A cry of protest weakly rung out from Luke, before a wave of something disorientating hit him.

"That was a small dose of morphine so I can set his arms without hurting him. No need to react so violently."

Luke saw everyone in the room settle back down, with Evan's spikes slipping back into his skin. He turned back to his doctor, eyeing him with even more distrust than before. Couldn't he have just announced his intentions before stabbing Luke? But no, he had to be all dramatic. Jerk.

Dr. Masters ignored the wary looks he was getting and grabbed his patient's arms, setting them into the slings after properly wrapping them. He set them into the slings after wrangling them onto his patient's neck. After he finished that, he opened the door to his office and told them to leave.

"If you stop down at the pharmacy, I prescribed you some pain medication for when the morphine wears off. Try not to lose them, because I will not prescribe any more to you if you do."

Storm herded all of the kids outside of the office, which was promptly shut after they left. All of the students were fuming after being treated so poorly by the man, but Storm made everyone laugh out loud when she voiced her own opinion.

"Someone must've tweaked his moustache when he woke up this morning."

She made a phone call to the Professor to inform him that they were done at the hospital and that there was no need for him to bother making the trip down there. When she hung up, the team made a trip to the pharmacy to pick up the prescribed medication before leaving. Luke couldn't wait to get home to the couch in the rec room. It was calling his name.

They arrived home in record time, yet again thanks to Storm's driving. Luke wasn't sure if it was the morphine or the car sickness that made him want to throw up. Once inside, he was informed by the Professor that he would have the week off to rest if he chose to do so. Luke nodded and thanked the man, then stuck his tongue out at Wolverine for being able to avoid his training sessions.

The man grunted and strode off, which was a victory in Luke's mind. He took his victory with a grain of salt though, as he jostled his arms and they began to throb. Luke headed to his room and grabbed his phone and headphones, moving as little as he could but still causing himself great amount of pain and discomfort. Rather than get settled on his bed for a nap, Luke saw the bottle of his pain medication sitting on his bedside. Storm must've dropped it by his room earlier.

Again, causing himself a large amount of pain in doing so, he opened the bottle and poured two out. A sense of apprehension hit him and settled in the back of his throat, but he quickly swallowed it just like he swallowed the pills. Settling down for his nap now, Luke put his iPhone on shuffle and let music drift him off to sleep.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, that was quick. I'll admit that I could've updated this in June, but I figured I would give myself a break to proofread my terrible grammar. There's a picture on iFunny where someone says that they do their best proofreading after they hit the send button. So True! But that's not an excuse I can stand by, so I apologize. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter and weren't too disappointed that I didn't include the Brotherhood. But I had to make a point that they don't care about Mystique anymore. So that left all that room I had to fill in the Juggernaut fight. I don't like how it all turned out, but I couldn't picture it any other way. It DID let me start a very important plot thread that you guys may have picked up on already.<p>

The little (1) was to note that I did something weird. I had no idea what happened to all the other kids at the first of the episode, so I improvised. Shouldn't be that big of a deal.

(2) was to deining that I did use the names of two doctors from the House series. Chase was my favorite House underling in the later seasons and I hated Masters, so to make this guy a balanced doctor, I blended the two. Plus, Masters is a Britian surname, I believe.

Chapter title came from Jimmy Eat World's song off of Future. I think this chapter title fits pretty darn well. Oh well. Read and review, tell me what you didn't like. I'm sure there was something. Big Willis, out!


	16. Cleanin' Out My Closet

AN: I'm back! I'm back in school yet again. Man it sucks. All my classes are useless except for my AA, but I can't remember how to do any of it from A2. I've had a lot of homework and I've been a little busy, so I'm sorry for not uploading this sooner. But please enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of it's products. All I own is a small headache and a new name thanks to my Spanish 1 class.

Chapter 16

Cleanin' Out My Closet

Time had passed on since the Juggernaut incident, and as a whole, the mansion seemed the better for it. The team was at a new high, trying harder simulations than they normally would've dared to attempt. Xavier had rebuilt Cerebro and it was functioning better than ever, allowing him to track large mutant movement as far away as Cancun. The news had stated that it was merely mob mentality that had set the city into a panic, but Xavier seemed unsatisfied. He had taken a personal trip down South America with Storm, only to return without anything to say.

Luke wasn't happy about Xavier's little vacation, because he knew what the man was looking for. He was looking for traces of psychic altering in the minds of the city's residents. He had more than likely found some, but not enough to unveil what had been removed. Luke didn't like the idea of Xavier poking his nose into shady business like that. There was a very good chance of something biting them all for his inquiries. Whomever Xavier was looking into Network business for, they weren't worth having to deal with any heat from the Network. It was bad enough they had busted up the exhibition ring in Denver.

Luke's arms had healed back after his week of relaxing on the couch. He had been forced to make another trip to see that ridiculous doctor again. The mustached man had pushed Luke into the X-ray room, taken his photo, then pushed him back out again. After a few moments, he told Luke that his arms were fine and that they had calcified even harder than before. Luke didn't even bother to thank the man, he just left and drove himself to the nearest burger joint to meet up with Kurt.

He had eased back into training sessions after the week was over and had been surprised to find himself taking what was left of his pain medication afterwards. It wasn't that he felt that he was dependent on the medication. He knew that he wasn't addicted. But the pain his powers caused him was getting worse, especially in his arms. He didn't know if it had something to do with the Juggernaut breaking them, or it was just his powers developing. He certainly hoped it didn't get any worse than what it was. He was running out of pills and there was no way Dr. Masters would prescribe more.

Sighing, Luke sat up on his bed and quit his contemplating of the ceiling design. He looked at his alarm clock, which told him to get up and get ready for the day. He really didn't want to. Maybe if he told the Professor about the stronger pain he was feeling…

With yet another sigh, the teen got off his bed and wandered to the nearest open shower to get ready. He didn't want to worry the man with any of his personal problems. The pain had always been there and he would deal with it like he always did.

The shower was enough to wake Luke fully and reminded him of how hungry he was. It was earlier than normal for him to eat breakfast, but he didn't think anyone would care. He walked down to the kitchen and found it disturbingly quiet. So when he walked into the room, he was surprised to see that there were actually people in the room with him.

Logan was sitting by a large windowsill, reading the newspaper. It almost made Luke laugh at the man pretending to be literate. Kitty was sitting at the table, typing on her computer. She looked up at Luke an he could've sworn a look of exasperation crossed her face before settling on her normal cheery smile. She didn't say anything and merely returned to her computer, more interested in it than making small talk.

Luke shrugged and returned to his main objective. Food. He lifted the lid off of a dish filled with bacon and sausages and grabbed a plate that he began to fill up. He moved onto the eggs, but the lid for that container slipped out of his hands and landed on the floor with a loud clatter that jarred everyone in the room. Logan glared at him after looking up from his newspaper and Kitty threw her hands into the air, complaining about not having any privacy. She fled the room as soon as everyone else piled in, making all kinds of noise as they got their own breakfast. Luke took Kitty's empty chair and began to scarf it all down, making a note to himself to apologize to Kitty. If he didn't she'd probably hold a grudge for the next month.

Logan looked up when Scott cut on the news for background noise as the youths all talked over breakfast. The Canadian took interest in the report of some Canadian mountain park getting trashed. Go figure. He turned the volume up incredibly loud in order to drown out the teens chatter. The man snarled before cutting the TV off and storming out of the room.

All of the X-men just shrugged at their teacher's moodiness. Luke finished off his second plate of breakfast before setting it in the sink. He left the room amidst a new conversation about Logan, chiming in "I didn't know wolverines' had that time of the month. That explains why DR sessions are always bad every third Wednesday."

Everyone laughed at that, but Luke ducked out of the room and decided to track down the mansion's kitty cat. The girl had managed to climb into a tree with her laptop, in order to get some 'privacy', Luke assumed. The girl was completely oblivious to the teen's presence, so he decided he'd have a little fun before asking for forgiveness. Luke slipped behind her and crept up to the tree. From there, he began to climb it as quietly as he could, reaching her height without the girl knowing.

Holding onto the tree with his powers, he reached out with his hand in order to poke at the brunette's exposed sides. Right when he was going to, Scott revved up his car and tore off down the driveway, making Kitty nearly fall out of the tree. The girl rebalanced and was about to climb down in order to find a quieter place when Luke struck. With a squeal, the girl toppled off of the branch and screamed as she fell towards the earth, her laptop not much farther behind. Luke forgot to laugh as his expression quickly changed to one of horror ass he fell out of the tree after the girl, using a 'come' motion to draw the laptop back into safe hands. With a small push from his foot, he slowed his fall and landed on the ground, where Kitty was rising back out of, looking cross.

Maybe he should've gotten forgiveness and just left the girl alone?

"What is wrong with you! You could've killed me or even worse, broke my laptop! I swear, it's like you guys have no respect for my privacy. Just give me my laptop and stay away from me!"

Luke was a little put off at all the anger Kitty was flaring. Making her fall out of a tree was hardly warrant enough to get screamed at, even if her laptop could've broke. He'd just get her another. So in return for the earful of loud words, he held the laptop above his head, which was well above Kitty's. She couldn't touch it if she tried. So instead she began peppering Luke with slaps and light hits, getting more and more irritated at her teammates childishness. In order to protected his face from angry hands, Luke turned and held the laptop at arm's length, making sure Kitty couldn't reach around him to get it. Instead, the girl went through him.

Luke nearly freaked out himself as he saw hands, then arms, shoulders, then finally the head of Katherine Pryde sprout out of his chest, grab the laptop out of his hands, then vanish. The feeling was completely disturbing and caused Luke to shudder. He looked back to see a still angry Kitty storming off towards the mansion, phasing through the door instead of opening it.

He still hadn't apologized, so he took off after her, running inside the house only to see her turn a corner. He followed, only to see her to turn and phase through her room's door. Luke opened it moments later and saw the room completely empty.

"Where'd she go?" Luke looked the room over and checked the hallway again. No one was there. Luke stomped his foot on the floor in defeat, only for a look to cross his face. Immediately he started running for the elevator. He rode it down to the bottom floor and checked inside the Danger Room. Storm was inside, flying through an obstacle course to stay sharp with her skills. Kitty wouldn't be in there if she wanted solitude. He continued down the hall and entered into the hangar for the Blackbird. It was closed and he didn't have a way to get in asides the loading bay door. Kitty would definitely hear that and probably run off again. What to do?

Kurt ported into the room, dressed for school but without his watch activated, wiping his head around looking for something, before settling on Luke. "Have you seen Kitty? She's gonna be late for school and Scott's offering us a ride."

Luke pointed to the Blackbird. "I think she's in there. Port us in and we can check."

Kurt complied and grabbed a hold of Luke's shoulder before the two disappeared into a cloud of dark smoke. They reappeared inside the Blackbird, with Luke's stumbling a bit at reentry. Kitty jerked her head up at the loud sound of Kurt's port and snapped her laptop shut, groaning and pressing her palms into her face.

Kurt told the girl about them being late for school and Scott's ride but she blew that off.

"All I wanted was some peace and quiet in this stupid mansion! Is that so much to ask?"

"That's what I'm here for, to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to drop that dish lid in the kitchen and make so much noise. I'm sorry." Luke rubbed the back of his head as he apologized at the still upset girl.

"That's what you're apologizing for? You nearly gave me a heart attack and made me fall out of a tree. Forget it!" Apparently, Kitty was still cross. She was about to phase out of the plane when it jerked forward suddenly, causing all three students to stumble to the floor, where they stayed until the plane leveled off and they could move steadily.

The three pulled themselves off the floor and opened the hatch door, spotting the orange jumpsuit of Wolverine in the pilot's seat. Luke and Kurt were about to question the man when Kitty pulled them back, whispering "I wouldn't if I were you. He's been acting weird all morning."

Kurt waved the warning off, stating how silly Kitty was being. Kurt walked to the man while Luke asked "How weird do you have to be to be weird for Logan?"

Kurt's shout was the answer as the two turned and saw Wolverine's claws extended and inches away from Kurt's head. Barely able to breathe, Kurt exhaled some joke about the seat being taken, before teleporting away from the man.

"Still think I'm being silly?" Kitty provoked, giving Kurt a look. Kurt just backed away from the pilot and said "No, I don't think so."

Logan engaged the autopilot and walked back to the three, struggling with some kind of head pain. "Why…are you following me?" The man strained out.

"We aren't. I was just-" Kitty stopped as her eyes caught glimpse of shiny metal. Logan's claws had slipped back out again and the man seemed to have lost it. Kurt ported all three of them back as the Canadian sliced at the doorway.

"I gotta take you back. There's something in my head. I can't control it! Can't be trusted." With that, the door was shut and the three looked at each other, pale in the face.

"He locked us out." Luke noted, finaly regaining the courage to speak.

"He locked himself in." Kitty corrected. Was she still holding a grudge or was she always that smug about correcting him?

"We gotta get out of here! There's a crazy person flying the plane." Kurt wailed, thinking of how much danger they were in.

"Can you teleport us to the ground?" Luke asked.

Kurt began to make hand motions to explain the situation. "Think of it this way. Bumpity bumpity bumpity splat. Way too high, way too fast."

"Man you suck." Luke complained, now worried about the flight's safety. Kurt gave him a look, before they all settled themselves to waiting the flight out. They all sat down and stared at the walls until Luke finally grabbed Kitty's laptop from where it was on the floor and opened it up.

"Where's that letter you were typing to your parents? I wanna see what you put about me."

Kitty immediately responded with "Gimme that! You have no right to look through my personal stuff! I don't do that to you guys."

Luke snapped the laptop shut and gave the girl a hard look before asking "Really? Cause I'm pretty sure that it was small skinny brunette from the valley that can phase through walls that went through my drawers when I was kidnapped. And you're the only one around that fits that bill."

Kitty paled at this. She didn't know that Luke knew about that. But how did he..?

"How do you know I did it? And why were you hiding those pictures in the first place? That little girl is-"

"None of your business." Luke interrupted. "The real question here is why you in my room in the first place when I was gone. Xavier must've thought I ditched the school so why did you go snooping through my stuff, hoping for a reason to prove him wrong? What's your deal with trying to figure me out? Is that even the only time you've been snooping through my stuff?"

Kitty didn't answer at first and Kurt was completely out of the conversation, confused as to what the two were talking about.

"I'm sorry. I was just worried, you know? I didn't know what had happened to you and you had been so helpful at that party when Storm was knocked out. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't of been there. The Professor had all but given up on you and no one else was worried at all. And I just knew you hadn't run away. I only looked at that one picture, if that matters any."

"Really? You swear?" Luke questioned. If she only saw that first one…

Kitty nodded before continuing "I'm sorry for not respecting your privacy while you were gone. I guess I'm kinda a hypocrite for wanting you to leave me and my stuff alone when I went through yours. But I swear I was only doing it so I could know if you were coming back or not. If you have secrets you want to keep, then that's fine. I think we all do."

Kurt nodded and the three settled down to wait out the flight, their destination unknown. After a while, the trio began to notice that the plane was getting colder and colder. One at a time, they went into the small closet that stored spare suits for the team and changed. The suits were much better suited to the cold than normal school clothes.

After much waiting without anything to pass the time, the three felt the plane jerk as it began to descend towards the ground. It must've caught turbulence or something. The plane finally touched down and stopped, but before the three could check on Logan again, they heard the sound of a hatch opening, then closing. Kurt popped into the front to check the radio in order to get in touch with Xavier, while Kitty phased Luke through the floor of the plane. The two saw a set of footprints heading off towards the mountains and began to follow them, spotting the bright orange jumpsuit of Wolverine that stuck out in all of the white surrounding them.

Kurt teleported besides them, informing them of the bad news. "Something is jamming the radio signal out here. I can't get in touch with the institute."

"Looks like we're on our own then." Kitty supplied, before turning towards the only option they had. Following Logan. It seemed to be a pretty bad idea, since he had nearly killed Kurt, then attacked all three of them. But it was obvious that something was wrong with their mentor, so they had to try and help. They owed him that much.

They followed his tracks in the snow as best they could, but eventually, they lost the trail that seemed to disappear into thin air. So from there, the trio of mutants had to resort to blindly searching around for the man. They searched for an uncertain amount of time. No one could really tell what time it was out in the wilderness with the sun's position blocked by clouds.

Luke was ready to tell them to give up and to return to the jet, so they wouldn't be left, when Kitty spotted the man on a large rock formation.

"Mr. Logan! Hey, we're down here." Kitty shouted, waving her hand to attract the Canadian's attention. Her look of joy at finding them man shifted to one of confusion, then horror as a large, bulky man appeared beside Logan.

"Uh oh. Looks like he brought a friend." Kurt warned, looking equally horrified by the man beside Logan. What was the big deal? The two acted like they knew him or something.

"Sabretooth! But they're, like, mortal enemies!" Kitty questioned to nobody in particular. The name stuck a bell in Luke's head. _'Sabretooth? Isn't that the guy who trashed the institute gate a while back? What's he doing all the way out here with Wolverine?' _

Luke didn't have time to ask questions as the two men jumped from the rock formation in obvious pursuit of the tree with less than pleasant intentions. The three teens turned and began to run uphill on a cliff, trying to put distance between them and the two savage mutants behind them.

Wolverine caught up first, unsheathing his claws and lunging at Kitty, who leapt out of the way. The ground cracked where Logan stabbed down at and the ice that Kitty landed on at the edge of the cliff broke off, causing the girl to go tumbling down the hill.

"Kitty!" Kurt shouted in despair.

"I'll get her. Stay alive!" Luke hollered at his furry friend before bailing off the cliff in a downward slide. Kurt didn't have time to respond as he teleported out of Sabretooth's way. Luke tried to stay on his feet as he slid downwards, but couldn't for very long and ended up rolling down the Cliffside just like Kitty had. Kitty roll to her feet at the bottom, only for Luke to collide into her when he hit the bottom. While the two were a tangled mess of limbs, Wolverine landed next to them, claws out and ready to hack them into pieces.

He lunged, but a quick kick caused an invisible force catch Wolverine in the air and fling him back. Luke quickly pulled Kitty to her feet while hissing in pain. The two turned to watch Logan approach them, claws still out, but something was wrong.

"Mr. Logan, what's the matter with you?" Kitty pleaded. The man began to clutch his head, suffering from some sort of pain that the two couldn't see. "Kitty…" Was hashed out through the man's gritted teeth as he struggled to hold back from dicing the two teens. "I know you're not yourself, but at least you recognize us. We've always been friends right? Maybe not friends, but close enough." Kitty broke off as the man began to clutch his head again in pain.

"If this is one of your training exercises or whatever to prepare us if you ever go insane, then you doing a really good job! But we've learned our lesson so snap out of it and lets go." Luke pleaded. Kitty elbowed him in the stomach lightly over making such a stupid statement, but hey. Whatever worked.

Logan let out a bellow of pain before his claws reemerged from hiding, making it clear he had lost interest in what Kitty was saying. By then, Luke's leg had recovered and he pulled Kitty's hand to get her to run. He kept a firm grip on her and when she slipped, he tugged her to her feet before Wolverine could get to them. The two ran again, rounding trees to throw him off course, but he merely sliced through them.

The two kept running, hand in hand, until the ran into a large over looming cliff. Wolverine had gained on them and if Kitty hadn't turned the two intangible and phased them through the cliff, they would've been skewered.

They reemerged on the other side and managed to stop from plummeting off into a river below. Luke plopped down on the ground and asked "What are we supposed to do? You tried talking to him and that didn't work. I don't think I can beat him and we're no where near the Blackbird."

Kitty let her breathing rate slow down some before answering "I can get to him. I know it. Didn't you see him when I was talking. Something is making him act this way and he can fight it! We just have to get through to him."

"Kitty do you really want to risk your life to try and talk some sense into him? He's like an animal right now. If you don't get him back to normal, he'll try to dice you. So please stay intangible when you talk to him." The request was neither confirmed nor denied by the brunette, so Luke would only assume she wouldn't. He'd have to be ready to protect her if Logan snapped again.

After a moment, the two joined hands again and Kitty began phasing them towards the top of the cliff. They rose out of the ground right behind Wolverine and Kitty silently stepped forward, arms outstretched to comfort the man. Wolverine sensed them and before Luke could do anything, turned with claws outstretched to attack. He stopped at seeing Kitty's face looking at him.

Kurt ported in and grabbed a hold of the girl and his tail wrapped around Luke's arm. "We're getting out of here."

Kitty pulled out of Nightcrawler's grasp and used her free hands to push Wolverine's mask off, saying "No, I'm reaching him! It's me! Kitty, remember? Half pint? Please, try! We had breakfast together just this morning. Kinda. Look, whatever they did to you, you're fighting it. You can win. Don't give up. Do you really want to hurt me, Mr. Logan?"

Luke wasn't sure if it was a fitting moment to or not, but he felt two urges then and there. One was to throw up after hearing such gushy talk. The second was to smack Kitty for saying that to a guy who had six sharp pointy knives pointed at her. But he couldn't do either because it was obviously working. Wolverine was fighting whatever it was inside his head.

His claws slipped away and he fell to his knee, where Kitty had enough height to hug him around his neck. How sweet. Luke would never let Logan live this down.

"Wrong move." Without warning, Sabretooth came flying in and tackled Wolverine off the side of the cliff. The two landed hard on the ground, but Logan kicked the larger man off and sent him through a tree. Wolverine then took off running, while Sabretooth recovered and took pursuit.

"He's taking control!" Kitty shouted, happy that her teacher was back to normal. And it was almost single-handedly because of her, Luke had to admit.

"That seems to be Sabretooth's plan as well." Kurt replied, sounding worried.

"Not if we have anything to say about it" Kitty shot back, before charging forward after the two mutants.

"Why can't things ever be simple around Logan? He just has to go out of his way to make things complicated, doesn't he? And that big cat man doesn't help much either." Luke complained, before grabbing onto Kurt's shoulder with Kitty before he teleported, leaving nothing but smoke behind.

They reappeared after a few ports right in front of the hulking man that had been trying to kill Kurt earlier. With a brisk arm movement, the man was sent flying back down the hallway while Kitty ran deeper into the labs to help Logan.

Luke's arm hung loosely by his side, useless for the moment as Sabretooth picked himself back up. He growled at the two but Kurt held him back from lunging by saying "Touch us and you'll be sitting two miles out from here in the woods."

The man backed off a little from that, but Luke didn't lower his guard for a moment. He couldn't teleport the man after all, so there was reason to believe that he was still in danger. Taunting the man only proved that point, because when Luke stuck his tongue out at the man, he howled and leapt forward, his nails stabbing straight into the metal floor where Luke had been. An invisible force slammed into the man again, knocking him back a few feet as Luke felt his other arm droop down to his side, now burning and useless as well.

A chain of explosions were heard farther into the lab, where Kitty had gone. Kurt flipped acrobatically over to Luke and grabbed him before they were gone in another puff of smoke. They reappeared by Kitty who was telling Wolverine that she wasn't leaving without him, even though the room was on fire. Kurt grabbed her by the wrist and said "No arguing!" before they were gone again.

Nightcrawler ported them well outside of the lab and close to the Blackbird when an explosions went off with such a force that Luke weighed them all down so they wouldn't be blown off by it. The sheer intensity of it was enough to level giant trees, leaving plenty strewn about where a forest used to be.

Dejected, the three sat down on a fallen tree and began to think to themselves. There was no way that anyone could've survived that. Not even Logan. So the three were left with their thoughts, not a single one of them daring to speak up and say the man was gone. If they did, then they would all have started crying. So they sat there, waiting on something. Anything.

The faint crunching of footsteps in the snow eventually caught their ears. To each teen's amazement, before them stood a man in a ratted orange jumpsuit, barely standing. Parts of the man's flesh were missing, but closing back before their very eyes, giving birth to new, pink tissue that covered the man's wounds. Wolverine was alive! The three jumped off of the tree just as the man collapsed. Luke pulled them man up and slung him on his shoulder, nearly buckling under the weight. Logan weighed a lot to be so small.

With a nod, Kurt touched him and al four of them were back in the Blackbird. Wordlessly, they began to prep it for flight, ready to head back home while Logan recovered. They were all just thankful to be alive and that Logan was too.

It was mid afternoon when they got back to the mansion and as soon as they landed, the rest of the team was waiting on them, with a wheelchair for Logan. How they knew what had happened was a mystery to Luke, but he didn't question it. He just helped get the man down to the med bay so he could rest in bed. He wanted to crawl into the one right beside Logan, but his stomach growled, reminding him that he had skipped lunch and was about to miss diner.

Luke made his way to the kitchen, but found it blocked off by Kurt, who was holding all of the other students back from entering.

"What's the deal, Blue? We gotta eat." Luke asked, getting a chorus of agreement from everyone else. Kurt just kept his position and said "Just relax. Give her a minute to herself. No one's gonna starve to death."

Luke huffed under his breath "Have you seen how skinny I am? I weight 130 on a good day and I need to eat. Kitty needs to pick better spots to write letters to her parents. It would save us all a lot of trouble."

Kurt just laughed, because finding Kitty's secluded spot was what got them all in that plane with Logan earlier. None the less, he gave Kitty a few more minutes before barging in with the others and loudly began to eat as much food as he could lay his hands on.

Man it was good to be home. And even better, he was home and he didn't have to do any DR sessions until Logan recovered. Life was sweet.

* * *

><p>AN: This was kinda short. Didn't have much to add. Most of it was regurgitated from the episode itself, which was annoying to write. I kinda rushed through it all because the episode, yet again, didn't leave me much to work with. Sorry if you're picking up on it. I'm gonna throw some new stuff in for the next few chapters to help spice things up. The Cauldron is next and it is time for things to diverge. How are the Brotherhood gonna be involved if they don't listen to Mystique? What is Luke gonna do when he meets Magneto? But one important question that I've never had answered is how the heck did Sabretooth go from trying to be a Canadian mutant slayer with Wolverine to working for Magneto, the mutant savior, in one episode? How did that happen? Does anybody know? Review if you have any interesting ideas on that.<p>

Chapter title goes to Eminem song off of his cd The Eminem Show. Here's till next time, Big Willis, out.


	17. I've Been Up, I've Been Down

AN: Wassup peeps? Good to write to you. I have to enjoy it small amounts because I'm on a limited time schedule. I have two hours tops to spend at my house doing laundry and other maintenance crap while writing chapters and playing Fallout in my free time. You would think that when your parents take a vacation to Las Vegas that your life would get easier. Mine hasn't. Disclaimer: I don't even have my math homework, much less any of Marvel's property.

Chapter 17

I've Been Up, I've Been Down

"Really? We got left? Man, this blows. I can't believe this!"

"Calm down you guys. I can't blame Scott for wanting to be alone to meet his brother who he thought was dead for years."

The group of X-men all simmered down after this, then turned to return back to their rooms completely bummed. Kurt suddenly got an idea and spoke up to his friends "Why don't we just go to another beach? Hawaii isn't the only place in the world that has one."

The group of teens looked at Kurt as if he were crazy for a moment, which to be honest, wasn't all that farfetched. "Road trip anyone?"

Before another word could be shared between them all, the three X-men who weren't already dressed for the beach took off. Kurt just laughed before porting to the hallway where the guys rooms were at. Instead of going to his door, he went to someone else's instead. Knocking, he called out "Hey Luke, are you in there?"

"If I say no, will you go away fuzz ball?"

Kurt opened the door at the heavily sarcastic joke from his friend laying on the bed with one headphone popped out. "So are you coming, or what? We're driving down to the nearest beach instead of flying. Scott's going to meet his brother with the Professor and Logan, so we got left."

Luke grunted as he thought about the option, not giving it too much thought as he grunted out a "No."

"What? Really? Come on, man it's the beach! Fresh air, clear sunlight, cool water, and hot girls. Why in the world would you not want to go?"

Luke didn't bother to give a real reason. He just gave a flat look and said "I don't want to. I get sunburned too easily."

Kurt could tell that it was a bad reason, but he left well enough alone and simply closed the door when he left the room, going to start up the van and to make sure everyone would have everything they needed for the trip.

Luke just sighed up at the ceiling from his position and looked over at the calendar he had pinned up on the far wall. It seemed time had flown by since he had joined the Institute. So much had happened in such a short time. He made friends, made more enemies. He had grown in his powers more than he thought he would've, in more ways than he could've thought of.

He enjoyed his time here. Everyone was like a makeshift family, all interwoven through their common characteristic. The X-gene. He had done some research on it a while back, when he had first started hiring himself out for jobs. Things were always undefined and unclear back then. No one knew what caused it all. No one knows what caused it now. But he had gone back and looked over what he knew about mysticism after the team's bout with Juggernaut.

It seemed to be even murkier than what he drug up about the X-gene. Not a single source agreed with another on it's effects, purposes, or methods to be done. There were even some who claimed it was fake. But he knew it was true. There was something buried in his subconscious, something right on the very tip of his mental iceberg, that was ready to emerge and explain his current confusion. He knew _something_ about mysticism. But he couldn't remember what he remembered.

He had gone through his contacts of people he could trust to ask such sensitive information. Nothing he had found out jogged his memory. But he could so faintly remember something that it was driving him crazy. Going to the beach wouldn't be any fun as he was right now.

He couldn't ask the Professor for help because the man was gone with Scott. Plus, even if he was here, he would be hesitant to ask in case the man found something that Xavier didn't need to know while pulling up memories. Luke trusted the man with his life, but there were plenty of things that he could list that the man simply didn't need to know, nor would he ever. It would only lead to more problems at the mansion. Especially since the Professor seemed so dogged on unraveling the Network. Luke just knew that Xavier was spending a lot of time talking with some third party behind closed doors.

So he was stumped as to what to do about his memory problem, but he certainly couldn't stand looking at the ceiling anymore. Maybe he could go mess with Terrence or something. A little fight might be just what he needed to stir his memory. And maybe the jerk would know the answer himself and Luke could just beat it out of him. Any plan of action would be better than sitting around any longer.

Luke pushed himself out of his bed and slipped on some shoes, leaving his headphones by his bedside so they wouldn't get broken or extremely tangled in his pocket. He walked down to the kitchen, in hopes of finding Storm to tell her he was going out. He didn't see a soul, but he saw a note on the fridge for Jean telling her that the others had gone to the beach without her.

Deciding to leave his own note, he jotted down that he was going out and left it pinned with a magnet for Miss Ororo to see. Maybe he wouldn't get grounded for it. Luke went to the garage and opened it up, scaring off some tawny cat that was lurking about, probably trying to find some scraps. He tore down the drive and out of the gates, cruising over the small roads of Bayville. After spending a few nights out with Kurt or some of the others, he had learned the roads around the city pretty well. It might as well of been his permanent home now compared to everywhere else he had lived.

When he made it to the Brotherhood household, he had to say he was impressed. It was certainly a much nicer building than before. Compared to their last house, this new one might as well of been the Xavier Institute to them. Luke drove up and parked his bike on the lawn away from the house itself, where it would be safe from harm hopefully. As he walked towards the house, the small garage built onto it came alive with noise. Luke ducked behind a tree and crouched down, staying out of sight as Lance's jeep went rolling down their gravel driveway. It was packed, but Luke couldn't make out who all was in it.

Deciding to ignore the sinking feeling he got over watching his enemies leave in such a hurry, he decided to focus on the house in front of him. There wasn't a single sound coming from the house and it looked like no one was home. He couldn't really tell though. It hardly mattered though, as at least some of the Brotherhood was gone. If push came to shove, he was pretty sure he could run away from a few of them.

Still sneaking forward, Luke stopped dead in his tracks behind some bushes as he heard the sound of a loud engine coming to life. Seconds later, the sound of squalling tires grated at his ears and a large blur went down the drive. Luke watched Terrence's truck leave, kicking up a ton of dust and leaving a trail behind him.

'_What could've gotten him in such a hurry to leave? Maybe I should check this out? Not like I could catch up with him now anyways, he's long gone so there goes my chance for an answer.'_ Luke wondered to himself.

He made it to the front door, but was suddenly unsure of how to proceed. Should he even bother to knock? These guys certainly wouldn't at the mansion. They would just barge in and start breaking stuff. So Luke decided to forgo formality and just let himself in. The door was open anyways, Luke discovered when he tried it. His assumptions were proven true when he stepped inside and looked at the living room. It was deserted.

"How've you been since that party, eh Luke? That was your name right?"

Or he thought he was alone. Looking up to the balcony of the second floor, Luke saw a face he wasn't expecting at the Brotherhood home. Or anywhere. This guy had dropped off of the face of the earth, according to Cerebro. He was dressed in a black suit, complete with a white silk tie and had dark sunglasses covering most of his face.

"Yeah. Long time no see, DJ. That was your name, right?"

The older black man chuckled, leaning heavily on the balcony rails while his voice began to blend together a multitude of sounds. It was absurd how many sounds Luke could recognize in the tenth of a second they were heard, only to be filtered out by the next sound that he thought he knew. It was like trying to catch a song on the radio in the car that was driving the other way on a highway. The sounds stopped when DJ stopped laughing at the bit of humor and he got his focus back.

"So what are you doing here? Last I remember, you were being ferreted out of a lab by some mutant named Magneto. How'd you end up back here?"

DJ drummed his fingers on the railing, almost as if he thought the question was boring. The sound his fingers made was swallowed up and turned into heavy hammer strikes on wood. Luke took this as a bad sign.

"Oh, you know. I got floated off while the old man explained his ideology for mutant kind and all that good stuff. For such an old geezer, he's got a good head on his shoulders and a razor sharp mind inside of that. So he asked me to spread his offer of Sanctuary. He's invited you X-men as well as the Brotherhood here to join him in a safe place for mutants. Away from the world that will hate as the very moment they find out about us…" His voice was something that Luke felt had traces of several other sounds. It was like someone had cut and pasted an audio recording for each word that he was saying randomly. One word would sound like DJ's normal voice, the next would sound like a radio announcer or someone off of TV.

"I'm guessing there's a catch. Xavier never said much about Magneto whenever he came into question back at that lab we were in. So that means Xavier doesn't fully trust the man. And if Xavier doesn't trust him, then he must be a real shady guy, cause Xavier trusts everybody. Plus, I don't think that the Brotherhood would just jump up at the chance to go hide off in some shelter somewhere. You told them something you aren't telling me."

"Well aren't you clever? But what I told them doesn't apply to you. Their invitation is a trial by fire, a challenge that pits them against your team to see if they are worthy to be by Magneto's side. But he's taken an interest in you and you have been invited personally, free of any challenges."

"You're saying that my friends are being attacked right now by the Brotherhood under this guy's order and you want me to just go to him? You must've been hit on the head too hard when Mystique captured you, because you're insane if you think I'd agree to that. No way. Tell Magnet Man or whatever he calls himself that I refuse."

Luke turned to storm out of his house, thinking of his teammates who were probably being waylaid by the entire Brotherhood when they were down to just Kitty, Rouge, Evan, and Kurt. He needed to get to them fast. Before he could take his first step, a soft voice whispered into his ear "Are you sure about that?"

The hairs on the back of his neck nearly pulled themselves out of his skin when he whipped back around, seeing nobody there but DJ, who had a blank look on his face.

"I dunno know what your deal is, man, but you better cut that crap out before I make you, alright? I'd hate for this to have to get ugly and trash the place when I don't even live here."

"I don't think you're in a position to stop me. The amount of gravity you would have to redact in order to nullify sound would be infinitely more than what you can produce now.(1) And you'll never even get close to that power without Magneto."

"You wanna find out?" Luke growled, before continuing "I could simply wave my hand and snap your neck. I don't need Magneto for a damn thing. So back off and go back to hiding behind a keyboard before you get hurt playing with the real powerhouses."

"I suppose you think that you're one of them, correct? Well if you're so powerful, then tell me what you can do about this?"

In response to the man's question, the large TV in the Brotherhood home living room cut on and began to show a live feed of what looked like a beach. And much to Luke's surprise, his team was shown, being pursued by a jeep full of Brotherhood. Avalanche caused the road to form a wall in front of the X-van, making Kurt swerve off the side of the road down a small road. Crystals grew and shredded the tires, causing the van to roll full force into a waiting Blob that flexed his belly just in time to catch the van. The sudden stop flung all four X-men out onto the sandy beach, but Luke could tell it hurt. Even on sand, that kind of landing was rough.

Kitty and Rouge were the first to recover, the two phasing through the sand and reappearing near the Blob. Rouge let go off Kitty and dived out of the way as Fred charged at her. Broken off from Rouge, Kitty turned to the Brotherhood, only to see a wave of sand rising to meet her. The girl phased through it, coming out the other side spluttering out grains of the nasty stuff and brushing it off her clothes.

Avalanche was waiting on her, having singled her out from the four X-men. "Pretty Kitty doesn't like playing in the sand? Well how about a quick dip?" Lance stuck out his hands as his eyes rolled back in head, creating more tremors that shifted the sands, drawing Kitty towards the ocean. Kitty was unable to escape as the sand beneath her was moving towards the ocean and she was unable to resist being drug into the ocean, even while phased.

The tide was strong and hard to fight in her clothes she wore over her bathing suit. The water tossed her about to and fro, leaving her gasping for what air she could get. Before she knew what was happening, Kitty felt herself pulled back out into the ocean as a large wave formed behind her. Lance had sent another tremor into the water that caused the wave, which crashed down hard on the coast, leaving an exhausted Kitty lying on the beach, thoroughly battered and unable to keep fighting.

While this was happening, Quicksilver was zipping up and down the beach, harassing Kurt wherever he ported to. Kurt couldn't get away from the stinging punches and speedy kicks as they always appeared in his blind spot. Pietro began to circle Kurt in a blur, kicking up a ton of sand that buried Kurt up to his shoulders, leaving him unable to move. The blue elf teleported up and above the sand pile, but didn't think of all the sand that came with him. As he landed, the sand crashed down on to of him, knocking him flat on his face.

In the blink of an eye, Quicksilver was right beside him with a quick kick that knocked that boy out and left a nasty mark. With a chuckle, Quicksilver called out to the live camera that was floating around the beach watching everything "How's that for a trial by fire, eh? I always come out on top!"

Luke would've snorted at the speedsters arrogance if he wasn't so shell-shocked by what was happening to his team. When had the Brotherhood gotten so good? The last two fights were even worse.

Rouge had avoided Fred's first charge, but due to the sands shifting surface, she couldn't push herself out of the way in time as the Blob slammed his meaty hands into the turf and made the entire beach flop. Rouge was flung through the air and into a rocky outcropping, hitting her head hard on the worn costal rocks. She got up though, a small gash on her forehead that bled a little. It was getting in her eye and she couldn't wipe it away fast enough.

The Blob was like a shark in the water. He smelled the blood and came charging once more. Luckily, the shifting sands worked against him this time and he fell, eating grit as he slid. Unluckily, his momentum had built up enough that he slid into the still blinded Rouge and the two crashed into the rocks again.

After a moment to get his bearings straight, Fred wobbled out of the small crater he had made and joined back up with the other victorious Brotherhood guys. They had all gathered around to see Spyke fling shard after shard and spike after spike at Crystal to no avail.

Luke watched the fight a little closer after rubbing at his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things. But what he was seeing was true. Evan's attacks were shattering as soon as they hit Crystal. The girl didn't even bother to dodge or protect herself. In the bright costal sunlight, Luke could see Amanda's skin shinning and shimmering as if she were an unburied treasure on the beach. It was pretty cool to look at. But the jarring light reflections became so much stronger that Luke knew something was wrong.

'_She's glittering more than normal. But how? And why is that making her break all of Evan's spikes?'_

As if answering Luke's unasked question, the brilliantly shinning teen turned to where the camera was floating, looking straight into the lens. "As you can see, brainless over there can't even scratch my crystals. I'm totally more worthy to be part of mutant kind's elite than this idiot is. So can we get this show on the road, or do I need to bash him around a little?"

"Mutant kid's elite? Is that what you lied to these guys and told them? That they would be better than every other mutant when they joined up with Magneto's little club? That's ridiculous!" Luke proclaimed, turning from the screen to DJ, who seemed content to watch the fights with his arms crossed and his face empty of emotion. He'd completely forgotten about Crystal now being able to encase herself in her own crystals as armor.

"Magneto has discovered the means to make them exactly that. They will be fully evolved into mutants beyond those that would affiliate with humans as if they were equals or even those that sell themselves to humans as if humankind will ever be capable of owning us. Magneto will separate those who wish to remain as something better than merely human from the others who would degrade themselves to being only human or even worse, subhuman."

"You guys mean to create a society structured for 'perfect' mutants that are so much better than humans. You don't care about the fact that some mutants aren't completely full of themselves and don't have an ego the size of a planet. What about that low class mutant who can only recharge double AA batteries? Is he beneath you because he understands that his gift doesn't make him king of the world? You think I'm beneath you because I don't flaunt the fact I can manipulate gravity? Well here's something for you and the big guy to chew on. Why don't you prove it?"

DJ didn't even bother to respond. He remained in his position, arms still crossed and his face still blank as copy paper. Instead a harsh, grating voice that sounded like death shouted in Luke's ear "With pleasure!"

Luke whipped his head around to the source of the sound, clutching his ear in pain and not seeing a single thing there. When he turned back to DJ, the man was gone. Nervous at not being able to see his adversary, Luke called out "Is that all you're gonna do, talk to me in a scary voice? Cause it'll take a little more than that to prove your point."

"Oh I'm not done yet. Not even close. I've learned a few tricks that I've been dying to try out."

The voice was like a phantom. It came from everywhere and nowhere at once. It was disorienting and added to Luke's nerves. A gunshot rung out from nowhere, reverberating the entire house as Luke nearly jumped out of his skin. Luke knew it was just DJ messing with his head, but man if it wasn't getting to him. He couldn't just cut off one of his senses at will. But DJ was proving he couldn't trust a single thing he heard. There was too much of a chance it wasn't true and that the man was baiting him.

A sudden creak on the floor behind him made him jump away from the sound, turning in air to see nothing there. Luke landed near a chair, nearly stumbling into in his hasty jump. As he recovered his balance, he heard a faint humming sound before the chair beside him exploded.

It had enough force to knock Luke off his feet and leave his head ringing. Bits of the chairs stuffing began to float down and cover him and the area around him. _'That's gonna suck to clean up.'_ Luke thought to himself, before focusing on clearing out his head. After a few moments, the room stopped shaking before his eyes and he could hear semi-properly again. He pushed himself up, swaying on his feet and leaning over to clutch his knees.

Suddenly changing position had made the room start spinning again, so Luke had to wait for the room to stop spinning again. A hand appeared in his line of sight, which was odd, considering he was looking down at the floor. The hand palmed his face and pushed him up to his full height and before he could even respond, pain erupted. He screamed. He screamed harder than he ever had before in his life. He screamed for as long as his lungs would let him

Luke couldn't tell what was happening to him, robbed of any thought process that would normally let him figure things out. It was mind numbing and breathe taking. If he had any air left in his lungs after screaming, he would've lost it. His body hardly knew to breathe in again while still being assaulted in such a way. It was beyond anything Luke had felt before, only comparable to his worst experience shredding muscles, only this was deeper. It was agony.

And then it was over. The hand pushed his face and knocked Luke off his feet once again, sending him to the floor on his back. DJ was a dark tower above him, looking down with almost a pitying look. It was as if DJ saw Luke as some lost sheep that had strayed from the herd and needed it's leg broken to teach it to stay in the herd.

"You've jut experienced what it felt like to have sheer sound shatter your entire face with thousands of hairline fractures. You'll live and recover, in hours maybe, thanks to your healing factor. By then maybe you'll see just what Magneto can do for you. You don't want him as your enemy, Luke. No one does."

Luke was so numbed by the pain ravaging his mind he could hardly make sense of anything that DJ said. He hardly even noticed the crash that the giant metal sphere made as it hovered into the living room. His body didn't even react as Luke was packed into the sphere. His mind took note that suddenly he was moving, but it was almost a third party observation.

All Luke could think about was the pain he was in and the fact the DJ had done that with mere sound waves. Latching onto the thought, Luke began to wonder on how exactly that was even possible. Anything to distract him from his pain.

* * *

><p>DJ looked at the new skylight of the Brotherhood home, watching the silver orb vanish into the sky, heading north. DJ turned back to the screen of the TV, watching as all the Brotherhood on the beach stepped into their own orbs, which sealed off and flew away, leaving a defeated group of X-men laying in the burning sand.<p>

The camera floated off, shutting off it's live feed. Now that the screen was blank, DJ could take the time to respect how powerful Magneto really was. The man could send hunks of hollowed metal across the world to carry people at incredible speeds all the while making a video camera watch over the fights for his own personal view.

DJ was about to turn and leave when the TV cut back on again. This time it was showing what DJ assumed to be the Xavier Institute. The front door was wrecked and the foyer was trashed too. Three combatants stood in a three way deadlock, no one moving just yet. DJ watched and shook his head in pity.

"Poor Mystique. She's got no idea what she's gotten herself into for betraying the boss. Her days of spying and meddling with business that isn't hers has gotten into something she can't shape shift out of. This will teach her a lesson if Springload doesn't kill her."

With that, DJ left the house, heading towards his next objective. Magnus sure had him busy these days. And he had to deal with such a stupid rabble. They were barbarians at best. They were even stupider than that green boy who had tried to attack him in order to be part of Magneto's plan. Unfortunately, he couldn't wipe the floor with this guy like he did to Toad, who was knocked out somewhere around here

Insert Line

At the mansion, the three way standoff was reaching it's end. Springload had tensed himself up as much as he dared before springing forward at bizarre speed, almost giving him tunnel vision. That one launch covered the distance between him and Mystique, who had already leapt into the air to avoid him. Springload simply kept going, bouncing forward in a blur until he hit the wall feet first. He seemed to stick to the wall for a moment, the force of his speed earlier keeping him there until he launched off of it, nailing Mystique in the back as she was falling through the air.

The woman took the hit with a fair bit of grace, slipping around Terrence in the air and flipping off of him, letting him get blasted by a lightning bolt from Storm. Storm kept her eyes on her true adversary, sending a gale to Mystique, hoping to throw her into the wall, which it did. Ororo was about to ice over the pinned shape shifter, but was flung into the air via a rising fist in her stomach.

Gasping in pain, Storm caught herself in the air with wind as she felt the bruise form on her stomach. The Brotherhood child was strong and fast, incredibly dangerous up close. She would need to deal with him before it would even be safe to deal with Mystique. But Raven was hardly a woman to sit back and let the two fight it out without trying to take advantage of it. Still, she had to try.

Springload launched into a back flip to avoid more sudden lightning strikes aimed at him. Narrowing his eyes, as he looked for his real target, he could see the shadow of a figure lurking in the hallway beside him. Taking a chance, Springload sprinted down it, pursing after the fleeing figure. He quickly turned to bouncing off the walls sporadically in order to avoid being hit by more of Storm's lightning strikes. A strong burst of wind threw him off balance in the air and he fell into the carpet, tumbling to the end of the hall and narrowly avoiding a vicious kick to where his head would've connected with his head had he not been knocked over by Storm's wind.

Mystique clicked her tongue at missing the kick, but turned to drive her heel into Terrence's spine. Springload wasn't a slouch at fighting though and knew what Mystique would do before she did it. So he timed her properly and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the heel and lashing out with a charged kick to her over exposed leg. The knee buckled from the blow and put the blue-skinned woman at perfect height for Terrence to deck her in the face. And he would've but he was thrown away from her by another gale of wind.

Ororo descended from her flight down the hall in order to check and see if Mystique was conscious, as the woman had slumped over after Terrence had kicked her. She charged her hand with electricity just to be safe as she approached. Right when she was about to touch the woman, her form shifted into a snake that slithered around her in the blink of an eye, wrapping around the woman in a way that left her unable to move her arms.

Mystique shifted back into her normal form, pinning Ororo even harder than before, to which the white-haired beauty groaned in complaint. "I wonder just how many bones I would have to break for you to admit defeat. You've no desire to be by Magneto's side anyways. I shouldn't even be fighting for my place, with as much as I've done for him."

"You shall not triumph over me so easily, Raven!" Ororo warned before gathering a huge charge of electricity around her form, shocking Mystique off of her. The woman fell to the ground, body writhing and random jolts of electricity leaping off of her. Before the Wind Rider had a chance to admire her work, a large sneaker imprinted onto the side of her head, sending her flying into a wall. The impact on the wall knocked the fight out of the woman as her consciousness faded.

Terrence just scoffed at the woman now slumped over in the floor of her own home before turning to his target. "You. You've gotten yourself into a lot of trouble for being a bad girl lately, haven't you? You've been traveling the world, associating with dangerous people, and trading confidential information for your own gain. You'd be a brilliant double agent. Even I can see that. But you've aligned yourself against the wrong people. I don't appreciate you selling me out to anybody. I've been told that bringing you to Magneto himself might earn me a special spot by his side. And as it stands, there's not much you can do about me cashing in on your worthless hide. So we'll see just how generous Magneto is when it comes to dealing out your sentence, huh? Should be fun to watch."

Terrence picked the still twitching woman off of the floor, hitting her in the throat and causing her to black out. He couldn't kill her. That DJ guy had strictly forbid it. It must've been because Magneto wanted to do it himself. That was fine. As long as the conniving witch got what she deserved. Nobody crossed Terrence Owens and got away with it lightly.

As if on cue from the end of the fighting, a metal orb crashed through the roof, landing with a solid thud on the floor of the foyer. Terrence slung his captive onto his shoulder and carried her to it. The metal slid apart to show it was hollowed. He flung Mystique inside before stepping in himself, watching the orb seal itself back up and take back off into the air.

* * *

><p>DJ had made it to the meeting point that had been picked between Magneto and the other. It was a small bar that was open 24 hours a day. There was already a small crowd inside, even though 5'o clock was still a good ways off. Stepping inside to the dimly lit building, he made his way to the back corner and slid into a booth. No waitress would bother to come back to this table, as her boss forbid it. The table was selectively used for meetings such as this by a wide variety of people.<p>

Asides him, the table was currently empty. As always, he could never expect this person to be on time. Why he even tried to be civil and set a time was beyond him. Heathens would never change their ways until they were shown just how blind they really were. He would just have to be that illumination that showed them the way, one way or another. But he need to be quick. He could feel the power from the Gems of Cytorak slipping away, its boosting effect of his mutation fading.

A person slipped silently into the seat opposite of him. As usual, he was dressed in a dark trench coat, gray shirt, and dark jeans. Such a slob. Almost as if he knew his presence annoyed the man across the table, the stranger grinned widely before settling down to business.

"So your boss refuses to come through on his part of our arrangement with the _hexe_? Does he not realize the value of the Fürsten? We may have been scattered about by the hündin opening her mouth, but we are still strong."

DJ sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This man was completely beyond him. "I've told you repeatedly I don't speak German. It's hard enough listening to your English over that accent. I've also told you that Magnus wants nothing to do with the other rabble you lord over. He is merely offer you the chance to join something bigger than mere pillaging and ravaging like a plague. You have the join something that will shape the world."

An angry look crossed the stranger's face, glaring at the perfectly calm and collected man across the table from him. "I am meister höchste of the Fürsten! And you sit here in your arrogance and tell me that my legion of men are nothing? I should split your head right now out of the sheer insult. Magneto's or not, I will not stand for being disrespected by a messenger boy!"

"You're sitting right now, so you will take it. And if you even look like you're trying to spit, I will kill you. I will shatter your entire skeleton without ever getting louder than the buzz off of these lights." Gesturing up to the light fixture that was buzzing faintly. "And besides, you know as well as I that they either assimilated or picked off your gang of princes already. You'll be next. So unless you want to be some simple knight or rook and someone else's chess game, you have little choice. Magneto does not desire to lord over you, but merely guide you towards your true power. What you do will be up to you, so long as you don't deliberately endanger mutants or mutant kind as a whole."

"They've taken Ivan?" The man had slumped into the seat, defeated. It was a suprise to him. He had never expected it to happen, let alone so quickly. His failsafe had fallen through without him even knowing. His trusted ally, probably dead now, had been compromised. The man would've never yielded to a forced labor term. That was the unspoken consequence of breaking the Network's rules. Those who did dirty work outside of it were either assimilated or killed. And this Magneto had known about it all and was offering protection.

"What does he plan on doing with them? Their numbers are great and their reach seems endless. How could he conquer such a foe?" The tone was sow much softer than before. It was much more suiting to DJ.

"He has his ways. But people like you are needed. Will you join his cause to free mutant kind off all burdens that shackle it? To avenge your allies? To become what you had all set out to be, Princes?"

The stranger lifted his eyes off of the table and locked eyes with DJ, his icy gray eyes shinning in a light that left DJ with doubts in his mind on the man's mental stability. "I will." With that answer, he stuck out a meaty hand that consumed DJ's much smaller hand.

"Then welcome, Hayden."

"Please, call me Nieselregen. Or in your language, Drizzle."

* * *

><p>Flying inside a giant metal shell wasn't Luke's ideal way to travel. It was small, cramped, and dark. There was no in flight movie playing. There was hardly any fresh air inside the thing. He had no idea how long he had been flying. He just knew that it was too long for his comfort. He was still thinking about what had just happened.<p>

DJ had used sound to vibrate Luke's skull so hard it broke. Not only that, but it fractured a thousand times. And yet he wasn't dead. The fractures were so small that they hadn't shifted or altered the structure any. That was the only way he was still alive. DJ had enough control, enough restraint, to keep him alive while doing the impossible. That was way beyond making a few hits at a out of control teen party. So had DJ been holding back or had he been enhanced by something?

The Brotherhood had gotten stronger too. If they were in on this mess, then they were bound to be going where he was. By himself, he didn't think he had much of a chance against them. Especially after seeing what they had done to his friends on the beach. Luke could only pray that Magneto wouldn't sic them on him as soon as he arrived at wherever he was going. He would take another round with DJ over that.

Luke groaned to himself, partly in pain and partly at the irony. He got his head busted up by someone who was probably enhanced by mysticism, which he had been looking for answers about. His day had really sucked so far and it didn't look like it would get any better. Damn.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, that was kinda good in my opinion. I liked that a lot. There was fighting, new stuff, and a cliffhanger. There are still plenty of questions being asked and I'm still working on some of the answers. Next chapter should be even better, even though I thought this one was good. Hope you liked it. It took longer than I woulda hoped to write, but I enjoyed it. Took me forever to find the name of those Gems Magneto uses next episode.<p>

Did anyone else notice that I had skipped over the entire episode about Kurt's past? I only noticed today. I didn't mean to, but it's probably for the best anyways. Sorry if that mattered to anybody.

(1) I looked up a few things for my physical science class and stumbled onto the fact that gravity affects things that aren't even matter. So yeah. That was totally mind blowing to me. And as excited as I was to discover this fact, I'm disappointed to say it will never happen in this story. The amount of gravity that would need to be altered would be enough to kill Luke in nearly any situation. Sorry for the buzz kill.

Chapter Title came from a Royce da 5'9 song. One of my favorites by him. Anywho, I'm gonna go to bed so I can get some rest before I bomb another AA test tomorrow. It's gonna suck when I fail that class. Thanks for all the reviews and keep 'em coming! Big Willis, out!


	18. Lose Yourself

AN: Finally got this chapter underway! I've been distracted by a lot of things, namely broken glasses, bad contacts, and Labor Day weekend, but I'm settled down now! So here we go! I hope you guys enjoy the season finale fo the first season. May there be plenty more to go! Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of it's products, like the show this fiction was based off of.

Chapter 18

Lose Yourself

"Who's the realtor that sold this hunk? They must've be one heck of a smooth talker or Magneto has sucky investment issues."

"You can't talk much since you bought that scrawny little motorcycle. That thing's practically useless for anything except looking flashy."

Luke had stepped out of the giant metal orb when it landed, showing that he was on some bizarre station that looked to be embedded into rock. Then he realized that the rock was floating miles above the snow-covered ground. So that meant that Magneto had them hanging miles above the artic ground on his personal asteroid so they would be dependent on him to leave. Smart.

And there, waiting on him on some runway, was Terrence, who looked as smug as ever over something. Maybe he learned how to tie his shoes in a double knot?

"So why are we here on Santa's secret workshop, Slinky? You hardly seem like the type to want anyone's help and I'm not on vacation. Has Magnet Man given anyone some answers to why you suck so much yet?"

"I hate it when you call me that. It makes me want to pulverize you more than normal. And as far as I know, we're going to get those answers as soon as you and the other two arrive. So quit poking around and move, before I drag you by your teeth."

Luke stood where he was, firm and ready for a fight. He was more than a little pissed at what had happened to him by DJ's hand and Terrence would be more than willing to take a little thrashing. "I'm not going to go hear what some deranged lunatic has to say until I get some answers, Terrence. There's got to be something you can tell me."

Springload didn't bat an eye, hunkering down in his position for fighting, a low crouch that let him build up tension in his legs quickly. "They've got your precious professor inside waiting on you. Summers and his baby brother are here too, somewhere. But there's something I want to ask you now. Who did you fight in order to get here?"

"I fought DJ. Wrecked your house while I was at it."

Terrence scoffed, right before launching himself at Luke like a rocket. "Figures you would fight that square. I wrecked your place when I was fighting Storm and Mystique, so we're even."

Luke saw the human missile incoming and spun to the left, using his hands to direct his powers to knock Springload off course and make him crash into some railing. Instead of landing head first, Springload did some fancy acrobatics and spun around the railings, using it to launch himself at Luke feet first even faster than before.

Luke intertwined both hands and brought them down from overhead, smashing Terrence into the ground mid flight with an invisible force. Terrence was sent skidding into a roll from the hit that he recovered from with a muscle-charged lunge that cut the distance between him and Luke in the blink of an eye.

Gasping in air around the fist now buried in his gut, Luke grabbed onto Terrence's shoulders and drove his knee forward into the teen's gut in return, before catching him with a nasty backfist that sent Springload flipping away thanks to gravity deciding to knock him around. Luke's arm hung loosely at his side and he wanted to swear at the fire coursing through it. But Springload was getting up and he couldn't show weakness. Terrence's mean streak was a mile wide and now was not the time to let him know that Luke was hurting.

"You know, I've been wanting to fight you for a while now. You've been getting complacent with where you are and I've been steadily powering myself up. It's time I give myself the pleasure of proving myself better than you once and for all."

"What is up with you and trying to prove your self worth by beating me? If you ever do beat me, which is laughable at best, what then? Do you join a cooking club in Venice and spend the rest of your days knitting sweaters in your spare time?"

"When I beat you, I move on to the next person and fight them till I win. And it keeps going till I'm the best out there."

"Why does it matter if you're the best?" Luke questioned as Terrence just dusted himself off and got in a sprinter's position. The teen didn't bother to answer, but pushed off with one foot to cover ground so fast Luke lost sight of him for a moment. Terrence didn't put another foot forward, but planted it to the side, sending him hurdling sideways to a wall that he bounced off of, speeding him up even further while trying to disorient Luke. His projection off of the wall sent him to the railing that he spun off of again and slung him through the air into a spinning heel kick that dug into the air a foot from Luke's open palms. That didn't stop Terrence's attack for long though as he spun while still in air and used his other leg to kick at Luke again. The gravity manipulating mutant had stepped back just in time to avoid having his face rearranged but stayed on the defensive to let his arms strengthen back up.

After his second failed heel kick, Terrence landed on his leading foot and pivoted, spinning again to make room for a roundhouse kick to Luke's head. Luke caught it again with his powers before flipping Springload into the air by his extended appendage. A high front kick sent a push that threw Springload further up into the air, still spinning and disoriented. Luke clenched his hands and felt the gravitational grip on Terrence's arm respond back. Perfect. Luke began pulling Terrence in and spun, slamming the teen into the ground as if there was an imaginary rope tied to him. The burn began to build in Luke's arm as he slammed Springload down on the walkway they were on, denting it in a little, before jerking him into the railing. With a final heave, he spun and flung Springload into a wall with a loud crash.

Luke huffed a breath in exhaustion and grimaced as the pain settled in. A cloud of dust had been created by Terrence's crash, making it hard to see if he was staying down or wanted to fight some more. As the dust settled, a figure was still standing in the midst of it, although the figure looked like they had been in a train wreck.

"We're not done yet!"

Springload ran forward again, each step pushing him a huge amount of distance. It almost looked like he was jumping forward with one foot at a time. Luke kicked out in a low sweeping kick, trying to use his powers to knock Terrence' off his feet. Springload fell forward but caught himself on his hands and flipped forward out of a handspring. The flip put him sailing through the air feet first at Luke.

With his arms still hurting, Luke used his heartbeat to power a push to stop the Brotherhood goon from caving in his chest and leaving shoeprints on his spine. Mid air, the teen was stopped by an invisible wall and Luke wheezed in pain, sucking in air and spitting out bloody spittle to the side. Terrence had taken the half-step he needed to in that time and dug one fist into Luke's ribs hard enough to literally lift Luke off of his feet. The second hit to the opposite set of ribs lifted him even higher into the air and made him gasp in pain even though he didn't have a breath to his name. The third hit connected with an audible _crack_ and Luke could swear he felt something give way in his chest, but before he could be sure, a spinning backfist hit and ragdolled him to the side. He hit the ground in a jumbled mess, antagonizing his possibly broken ribs even worse. He felt like screaming bloody murder.

But he had to get up and he did. He stood on his feet and fought the urge to sway or stumble. Springload wouldn't get the slightest bit of weakness from him if he could help it. Terrence just grinned because he liked it that way. It made it that much more of a challenge.

Before either of the two combatants could do anything, metal sprung to life from their surroundings, lose bits from the rubble the two had made. The scraps linked up and latched onto the two teens limbs, restraining them.

"What is this? What'd you do?" Luke yelled to the teen that was in the exact same predicament as him. This was obviously Magneto's work, but why was the man interfering? It must've been on Terrence's behalf because Luke had nothing to do with the mutant.

"Settle down, Gyro. All will be revealed in time. I had to stop you to before you destroyed any more of mutant kind's new home. Let me welcome you to Asteroid M. I have invited you here personally Gyro because you have acquired my interest and I feel as if I have much to offer you. Our powers are quite similar after all."

Luke scoffed and spit at the floor, clearing out what was left of the blood from his mouth. "I'm not here to listen to what you have to say and I'm certainly not here for advice on how you handle the blood curdling agony you experience when you use your magnetism. I'm doing just fine on my own."

Terrence was silent as he watched the cloaked figure of Magneto float out of the asteroid entrance, donned in his signature red armor and helmet. The man was an imposing figure, even though Terrence was sure the man was old. Very old. The man still wielded such power that it was almost beyond Terrence. He had to respect that. But restraining him was a no-no.

After being given a moment's pause, Springload had tensed up his muscles and tried to jerk his arm free of the metal. The metal tightened, not giving Springload any room to explosively expand his muscles. His powers couldn't work in a situation where he couldn't move, He was as weak as a normal person like this. And that made him even angrier.

"Calm down, Springload. You've got much to learn as well. Your anger will only hinder you if you don't handle it properly. That is something that we have in common, our mutual hatred for weakness. But now is not the time for fighting. You two must be enlightened and set aside your petty rivalry for the benefit of mutant kind, so we can bloom out into the sun instead of being hidden in the darkness, where we've withered."

"I suppose you have some great plan for exposing mutant kind to the world and establishing us as some dominant race above all humankind. Along the way you'll destroy every bit of Western civilization that had been built up since recorded history along the way. And then you'll set yourself up as some king, which will in turn lead to a long series of bloody assassinations and wars until mutant kind is so decimated that what's left of the humans will up rise and kill us all out for conquering them. Sounds great."

Magneto chuckled as he hovered towards Luke who was spitting as he talked, so caught up in his anger and disgust. The man stopped a short bit away and the metal around Luke tightened even more. The man reached out his hand, aiming to grasp onto Luke's shoulder.

"Someone seems to have a wild imagination. What if I never made myself king? What if I gave mutant kind the chance to govern themselves just as they should? What would you say then?"

Magneto's hand stopped dead in the air, unable to pass through a certain point. Luke glared up and the helmet that obstructed his view of Magneto's face. "Men with power will never settle for being governed by others of lesser power. Mutants would never abide by any law established even by mutants because they would think they are above mere words on paper. They aren't human. They would do what ever they wanted and chaos would rule the day, until of course, a war broke out that killed off most of the population and we were then killed off by whatever was left of the humans. There isn't a single way that you could expose mutant kind to the world as the dominant force where we wouldn't end up all dying."

Magneto must've been angered by Luke's argument and the deflection of his hand, as the metal tightened around Luke's limbs, breaking the skin and letting blood trickle out. Luke just glared at the man and when he tried to put his hand out again to touch him, Luke huffed in a breath of air before letting it out in an exhale that sent the master of magnetism back, forced by something unseen.

"Such a violent and negative mindset. I don't see how you share Xavier's ideals of having humans live alongside us. Surely you would see how they would try to cage us and use us as mere lab rats or weapons. So tell me what you believe would happen if mutant kind was ever exposed to the world?"

Luke didn't answer for a moment, letting his regenerative factor do its work. After a moment or so, when he was fit to, he grunted out "I already have."

Magneto was astounded from the sound of his voice as he asked "You think we would all die out?"

Luke didn't answer directly but said instead "I once saw a kid who at the age of 6 had created a nuclear reaction between his hands. A year later, I saw the same kid annihilate a building that was still inhabited by people, both human and mutant alike. A month after that, the kid was in the newspaper, dead from what looked like a seizure. Mutants who are allowed free reign to do whatever just because they can, eventually turn to doing wrong. Freedom is a flawed ideal because no one is safe enough for others to leave them unchecked. We have to have some kind of power above us to keep us in line. And if mutant kind is exposed as anything other than people who are just different, then I feel as if we'll lose sight of that power that keeps us in line."

"You sound so much like the philosophers of the world after World War 2. I grew up listening to the idea of the world redefining what was right and wrong and that all people should have that same standard. But the standard will never fit everybody, Luke. You, me, Terrence, we're all above the standard that we would be forced to live by if we didn't place ourselves above humans."

"I would prefer to hold myself back from controlling the world if that meant the world that controlled me was worth living in. Maybe the world that controls you isn't worth living in. If that's how you feel, I'm sorry, but I will always think that living by a standard of right and wrong that keeps me in line is the only way to live."

"That's kind of ironic considering you steal, break into, and have even destroyed other people's property for a job that you didn't even have to do. You did it for fun." Terrence sneered from his spot on the walkway. All the talk of ideals and other nonsense made him sick. He was a man of action and being restrained like he was made him angry.

"And I was wrong. I did just do it for the sake of doing it but now I've got better things to do than to be a criminal hired hand. I've raised my standard, little by little, because I shouldn't have been using my powers with such a low standard for a reason. Now I've got friends, a home, and things worth fighting over. And people like you" Luke said, turning to Magneto "would ruin all of that, even if you mean the best for mutants. I will not willingly be a part of that. No way."

"I see. You sound frighteningly similar to the Charles from so many years ago. And then he began to change from what you still are to what he is now. Someone who hides behind lies and would break any rule to keep his peace. What he lowers himself to doing just for you, the rest of his students, and his precious institute, is far worse than what I would do on any day. That is why I abandoned his cause so long ago, because the road you are on, teetering between humans and mutants, is filled with dark decisions. Maybe you'll fare better than he did."

"What have you done with Xavier, anyways? I'd like to see him if you don't mind." Luke snipped angrily, turning the conversation away from such a stupid discussion. The Professor would know what to do with this man and his talk of ideals. Luke wasn't much for it.

The metal holding onto Luke and Terrence clattered on the floor, releasing them from their confinements. As the two began to rub their wrists, letting blood circulate back through properly, Magneto floated back towards the entrance. "You're right. I'm sure you have much to ask Charles. There is much for us to discuss ourselves."

The two teenage mutants glanced at each other, their feud temporarily set aside. They followed the man into the asteroid, through hallways and to a chamber lined with glass tubes that seemed befitting of a science experiment. Inside one of the glass tubes was a redheaded girl floating in a green liquid, almost lifeless. At second glance, Luke nearly shouted when he saw it was Jean inside the tube. He held back from saying anything until the Professor got there. He would know what to do about her. Besides, Magneto's other recruits looked ready to skin him alive if he tried to do anything.

Inside the room, it seemed that the Brotherhood, with the exception of Toad, had assembled. Joy. Not a single conscious friendly person in sight. Terrence went over to the rest of the Brotherhood goons and they all began looking between Magneto and giving Luke hard looks.

He and Crystal had never made up over their spat, so she gave him a harsh glare alongside the others, which hurt Luke a little. But he weathered the hard looks and waited on the man leading the show to continue on. Magneto waved his hand and the sound of metal wheels rolling entered the room. Charles Xavier was dragged unwillingly into the room, his wheelchair rolling itself into a neat park by his student. Luke and Xavier shared a look but the telepath turned to address his oldest ally.

"Why have you drug us all here, Magnus? What is this promise of sanctuary you spoke of? It looks to me that you've brought your own and abducted two of my own. Why have you dragged us into this madness?"

"Charles, I merely mean this as a way of survival for our kind. Most of your X-men were not selected only because they did not prove themselves. But those of you here are being offered a place to grow into full mutants, mutants able to tap into their powers fully and without restraint by a society that wasn't made for us."

Xavier hung his head and slammed his hand down onto his arm rest. "You've gone too far, Eric. You mean to enhance the X-gene but you know the results of it. We've both witnessed it. It's far too dangerous for you to expose such young mutants just so they can be your army to create a new world."

"You are too determined to see peace and equality spread to the humans that you've shut yourself out from other views, Charles. Times have changed. I've undergone the enhancement myself and I am now in full control of my powers. But I fear not of how you think, because for every non believer, there is a new convert."

With that, Magneto gestured to Scott and a tanned blonde-haired teen that Luke assumed to be Scott's brother. They were dressed in the matching uniform of tight jeans, white shirts and thick brown jackets that made them look more like jocks than anything else.

"Scott, I…I don't understand."

"We're just here to listen Professor. That's all." Scott tried to explain, his brother hunkering behind him like a shadow.

"What about her, Scott? Is she here to just listen?" Xavier asked, pointing to Jean.

Appalled at what he saw, Scott turned to Magneto, hands at his shades, ready to rip them off and blast the man. "Hey, what is this?"

"It's simply a precaution, Scott. Not everyone here has the maturity to except the coming change like you do. Not yet."

"Let her out, now!" Scott warned, taking steps forward to get in Magneto's face.

"Anything you can us, she should hear as well. She's got more maturity in her left big toe than all of you assembled losers behind you." Luke said, stepping away from the Professor only to get his arm grabbed and tugged back. Scott got held back by his brother and while he was talking to Scott, Xavier began to converse with Luke telepathically.

'_Should something happen to me, you _must_ get Scott and Jean and find a way out of here. At the most, Jean could carry you three to the ground if you were to reduce the weight. Erik would never harm me but I cannot trust him now. I ask you to do this for me because I know you have the determination to do what even Scott can't at times. Do not be fooled or mislead by his words, Luke. Promise me this.'_

It was almost scary for Luke to hear all of this from Xavier, the most powerful mutant Luke knew. The man always had a way to work through things no matter what the situation, and now he was making plans for them as if he wouldn't be around. A small jerk of his head was all Xavier needed before they returned to the conversation at hand, namely to Magneto telling Scott that Jean was perfectly safe.

Xavier began to focus to told Scott something telepathically. Magneto must've noticed and turned, sending Xavier's chair rolling towards a tube that opened up to capture him. Luke had reacted quickly and pulled back on the chair with his powers. The chair locked up in a stalemate between the two mutants. Charles hardly seemed to notice, too busy calling out telepathically to someone.

Luke's arm muscles degenerated before he could get another grip on the wheelchair and it was sent rolling into the tube that quickly shut itself and filled with gas. Xavier was out in a second, not even given the time to struggle.

Good arm cocked back to smash the metal armored man, Luke spun and nearly released a wave of gravity, but saw Scott had the better idea. His powers were flaring and even behind the sunglasses Luke could see the red energy building up, ready to shatter every last glass container on the wall.

"Do that and neither of them will survive the decompression."

"Oh yeah? The odds aren't looking that well for you either. Let them out, now!" Scott threatened, back in the man's face again. Luke looked past the old man and to the crowd of other mutants waiting to back the master of magnetism up at the drop of a dime. Luke could knock them all back until Scott had finished blasting Magneto to smithereens, then they could free the Professor and Jean and get out of there. They could do this. But Luke was going to wait on Scott to make the shot first.

"Hey Scott, come on man. This isn't any good. They're getting a little time-out, so what? It doesn't matter. Look, no one should be getting hurt here. I don't know much, but I do know that Magneto wants to help. You can't blame him for being a little cautious. He's offered us help and I _need_ his help." Scott's brother came pacing forward, holding his hands out to push Scott back off of Magneto. Scott almost looked ready to drop his hands from his sunglasses, but Luke didn't like it.

"Scott, I know you and your brother want to be close right now, but he's mentally retarded. This man had kidnapped Jean and knocked out the Professor. And for what? Because he's scared of telepaths reading his mind and letting everyone else know he's full of hot air. If you stand down now, then this will be the last time I ever look to you for orders. Xavier didn't train us just so we could cower before old men past their prime whenever he wasn't around. He taught us how to take a stand for what we knew was right."

While the speech was certainly touching deep down in the heart, it didn't make the reaction Luke wanted from Scott. Scott dropped his hands to his sides and took a step back, letting out a deep breath before saying "The Professor taught us more than just to fight. He taught us how to work things out without violence and to find a mutual agreement for everyone. Alex, you want to find some answers from this guy. We'll see if he can give them to you after all."

"Very wise, Cyclops. Soon you will see that I am not your enemy, nor Gyro's, or even your beloved Professor. I am only here to help."

* * *

><p>Back at the mansion, the defeated X-man had managed to make their way home, sore, tired, and battered. They saw the front doors knocked off of the hinges and the glass in most of the windows shattered. They stepped inside the foyer to see it thoroughly trashed and ruined. In the middle of the foyer stood Mystique, her heel planted firmly into the back of a figure laying on the floor. The X-men saw the white hair and immediately sprung into action. Kitty slipped beneath the floor while Evan fired bone spikes rapidly at the blue figure now aware of the team's presence, his anger fueling him. Mystique flipped away easily, her acrobatics making it seem easy until Kurt ported behind her and kicked her hard in her back.<p>

"What are you doing here, Mother?" Kurt snarled angrily at the woman now getting back to her feet. Kitty had picked up Storm and helped her up, supporting the woman between herself and Rouge while Evan grew more spikes to threaten Mystique with.

"If she's still here, then she must be a loser! We all are if we're still here." The mutants all turned to see Toad perched in a window sill, where he flipped from and landed closer to them, dressed in his ridiculous combat suit.

"Don't you dare call me that, Tolanski!" Mystique warned, her voice rising as a threat even though she was in a precarious situation herself. Toad noticed and bucked up the courage to say "Shut up, witch. You're just mad cause Springload took your place by Magneto's side. You shouldn't even want to see that man again, since he's probably gonna flay you alive when he finds you."

Mystique stuck her nose up a little at the comment, "Hmph. Is that what his little Acolyte told you? That I'm a traitor to the man? I've served Magneto with more loyalty than any of his other pawns and he dares to question where my ties lay? I merely need to see him to straighten this all out and to correct these lies. So X-men, if you would please excuse me, I'll be taking your jet and going after the man."

Kurt waved both hands in the air and shouted "Hold on a second! Someone tell us right now what is going on! Why were we just ambushed by the Brotherhood, who is this Magneto guy, and why does he want to kill you?"

"Don't bother wasting time asking these clowns, Elf. I'll fill you in on the way. All you need to know is that Magneto has our friends and we're going after him. So suit up and head to the hangar." The X-men nodded at the order from their teacher. Logan had arrived, looking worse for wear, but when he gave orders, you didn't question them. You just did as he asked and prepared for the worst. As the team of younger mutants, plus Storm, made their way into the mansion, Mystique turned to Wolverine and demanded to come along.

"I know the man so I should be calling the shots."

"Get your own ride then." Wolverine grunted, striding by without a care. Mystique snarled, but didn't dare attack Wolverine. Instead, she kicked out at Toad, hoping to vent on the cowardly mutant. But Toad wasn't a coward anymore… Or at least he wasn't scared of her. Toad squatted down to avoid the kick and lashed out with his tongue, yanking the woman's leg out from under her and making her fall flat on her back. With that, he turned and followed Logan, planning on going with the X-men. He wanted to be with his friends and the X-men seemed like the only way to get there.

Mystique just screamed at the roof in anger, before flipping up and storming down the hallways after the others, breaking a few vases along the way.

Once everyone was there and ready to go, Logan opened the hangar and pointed to the hangar's newest addition.

"Welcome to the first test flight of the XM Velocity."

* * *

><p>"I wanted to be there for you Alex. I'm sorry."<p>

Oh how Luke wanted to just throw himself over the railway he was leaned against. When Scott backed down from his shot at Magneto, the little gathering was over and Scott had gone out for a breather with his brother. Not wanting to be left alone with Magneto and the Brotherhood, Luke joined them. Oh how he wished he would've stayed with the Brotherhood. At least he could made fun of them to pass the time. Then he wouldn't have to listen to all the brotherly bonding going on. It made him sick.

This Alex brat had convinced Scott to back down from Magneto just because his hands were hurting. Cry baby. At least the surfer boy's pains came and went. Luke's pains were a guarantee every time he used his powers. Luke didn't like the blonde boy, but he couldn't actually try to make him and Scott split apart. Not only would it have been useless to try, but it would've been cruel. So Luke just left the two to it.

He turned to the entrance to the asteroid when he saw Magneto float back outside, joining in on the tail end of Scott's conversation with his brother. What an eavesdropper. He said something that caught Luke attention, something about a renaissance and being a part of it. The man gestured for them to follow and led them to a new part of the asteroid, a chamber with a large vault door as a wall.

Sabretooth was there and waiting on Magneto's return, it seemed. Luke hardly bothered wondering why the feral man was there. It seemed all of the X-men's enemies seemed to be friends. Maybe Magneto had sent out invites on Facebook or something? The Brotherhood were waiting as well, glaring at the three mutants trailing behind Magneto.

"I built it directly into the asteroid. Behold, the next step in mutant evolution!"

"What is it?" Scott asked, clearly unimpressed by the vault door.

"A genetic enhancer. Perhaps you've heard of the legendary Gems of Cytorak? Well, they do exist. Once believed to have mystical properties, these stones actually emit a radiation." Magneto explained, pulling out a red shard from his armor and holding it aloft for them all to see.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Alex cried out, but Luke cut him off before Magneto could himself.

"Shut up, Mr. Aloha. Those things wont hurt you, because in case you didn't know, it's a pretty common theory that the X-gene was formed by some type of radiation. Those things really would help you out. But where exactly did you get them because there were a dozen reported Network missions of mutants specifically powered towards tracking that came up with nothing but wild stories? I could believe that they are real, but I don't believe that those are the genuine thing. There's no way you found them if nobody else could." Luke pointed out, causing a wave of doubt for the others listening in.

Magneto merely scoffed at the statement and said "If you do not believe me, then let me give you an example. Sabretooth!"

The large man stepped forward and entered into the room behind the vault door as Magneto opened it for him. Machinery inside began to activate as the man stepped through the metal walkway and the door shut behind him.

"I want to show you and the others just what I am offering. And it is an offer, Gyro. Make no mistake on that."

Luke ignored the man as he focused on the sounds the machine was making behind the vault door and he waited for it to die down. After a few moments, it did and Sabretooth walked back out, looking completely different. He was much taller, standing over 7 feet in height compared to his normal 6'3. He had gotten much broader as well, but that was hardly noticed compared to the fact that instead of being clothes, the man's chest was now completely covered in fur that hid the mass beneath it. The man's hair had grown longer and his canines even longer, looking much more like his codename. But to top it all off, the man looked near brain dead, even compared to his normal features.

Luke kept quiet to stop himself from making fun of the man, because Luke definitely saw the upgrade the man had undergone. There was no mistaking that Magneto had indeed found the Gems of Cytorak and was using them to enhance X-genes.

"I'll go next." Everyone turned to stare at Luke in shock. "What? I'm all for getting free power-ups, but it's not just that. Scott, what if that machine didn't do all it was supposed to? What if Magneto has it rigged to do something else to just us because we aren't loyal lackeys like Bigfoot over there? I'll go and if he does anything funny, then you can take your brother, bust Jean and Xavier out of here, then make it back to the mansion safely. If this thing doesn't do anything funny, then I'll get super buff and we can still free the Professor afterwards if need be."

Scott nodded his head in agreement, watching Magneto to see if he did anything suspicious. Luke made his way to the still open vault door and stepped inside the glowing fluorescent light, faintly hearing Magneto say something. A moment later, his head was barraged by a telepathic voice.

'_Luke, what are you doing? Magneto is going to use that thing to alter your mind!'_

'_Professor? Well, better me than Scott and his punk brother. Can you fix me when I get back out?' _Luke asked, turning around to see the vault door shut and his connection with the man break. What was it with metal blocking out Xavier's powers? He would really need to ask Xavier about that later, so they could find a way to work around it. Before Luke knew anything else, a blinding light erupted from behind him, overcoming his mind and leaving him totally blank. Then, almost as if he was having an out of body experience, he felt his body began to change.

It only took an instant, but Luke could still feel something inside of himself change. Then, as the instant faded, pain crept in. It was slow at first, like that of a long day muscle soreness. Then it gradually increased, to the feeling he had after Danger Room sessions with Logan. It stayed there, almost as if Luke had used his powers like he did in those sessions. But instead of the pain fading, it continued. The fire continued to burn, even though it should've stopped. Luke gasped out for air and clutched his arms, trying to wring out the pain in them, out of his whole body. The pain his powers caused always faded before. It always stopped. But not this.

Was this what his powers were really meant for? Luke could hardly wonder about the question before he felt something foreign creep into his mind. Something sentient and wasn't his. Distracted as he was by the pain, Luke didn't have a chance to fight it as the mental entity took control and swept Luke into the back of his own mind, like a third party observer. And even in the back of his mind, he could still feel a portion of the pain that he was so accustomed to with his powers. And yet this pain was different. It was permanent.

Luke felt his body walk back out of the hallway he had been in, returning to the chamber where he saw everyone waiting, even the two mutants who had been unconscious in glass tubing earlier. His friends looked at him with shock and awe, while he noticed that the Brotherhood almost look scared of him. Magneto was impossible to tell, his face completely guarded for some reason.

"I should have known you were one of _those_." Magneto hissed, turning from Luke and to Xavier. "Charles, you simply took this one in for your own ideal's gain. How could you possibly explain letting a mere human waste space at your school for mutants? Are you trying to get a head start on assimilating yourself into society by making them more like us?"

Luke wanted to shout, to demand, to question the man. His body didn't respond to his urges, it just stood and suffered its own pain.

Xavier couldn't bare to look at Luke any more, turning his head away as he answered "The boy wasn't given the chance to come into his own. That doesn't make him any less deserving of his powers, nor any less deserving of being able to control those powers. And now, look at you. You've awakened his powers fully for your own gain. Luke's not even in control of himself now, thanks to your meddling into things beyond us, Erik! You are as much to blame for him being a mutant now as whomever did that to him in the first place!"

"What are you talking about Professor? Why is he saying Luke's not a mutant? He is. He's got powers just like the rest of us. And what did Magneto do to him, cause he hasn't said a word since he stepped out of that thing?" Scott asked.

Luke wanted to hug the teen, but even if were in control of his body, he wouldn't have. Cyclops had asked just what Luke wanted to know.

"Luke didn't have his X-gene awakened through means like ours, whether stress or natural growth. He had his forcibly awakened, through mysticism, like my brother, Cain. It happened before he can consciously remember, which is why I don't know more about it. But Magneto has enhanced Luke's X-gene when it was in a hibernate state. I can only imagine that he must be in pain and is now capable of what Rebecca told me in the beginning about him."

"Well can you wake him up from whatever Magneto has him under?" Alex asked, now genuinely worried. He had trusted Magneto against his older brother's better judgment and now Scott's friend was brainwashed. Before Xavier could answer, an alarm began going off, cutting out any conversation.

"Aircraft!" Sabretooth cried out over the shrill alarm. He sounded even dumber than normal too, Luke noticed.

Magneto merely smiled and asked "Really? Let's see who it could possibly be." A mere gesture caused a skylight to open and reveal the night sky, incredibly clear from so high up in the atmosphere. Magneto reached out with his magnetism, but seemed to fail to grasp the helicopter that was barely in view but coming in fast.

"No metal!" Magneto cursed, looking at Charles, who merely smirked at his old friend's lack of fortune.

"No matter. Luke, bring it down!"

Luke wanted to swear, curse, cry, shout, or do anything to tell the world how much it hurt when he lifted his arms above his head in preparation to use his powers. Luke could see the muscles in his arms, noticeable bigger now, twitching and tearing beneath his skin, which had taken on a grayer tone than before. And then, as his arms were brought down, Luke felt a connection to his powers that was infinitely stronger than before. He could see the helicopter jerk off course and begin to fall towards the skylight without control. It was under his control now.

And what was even better, was that now his arms weren't hurting so much. The pain, while still there, had lessened after using his powers. It was completely opposite of how his powers normally worked. The plane came crashing down, landing on one of the balconies crashing in through the hallway. It broke through the chamber and was spinning wildly, heading straight for Luke. The tail of the helicopter spun forward and was about to smash into Luke when it suddenly caved in on itself and avoided him entirely. Luke felt some of the pain ease out of his chest from the back of his own mind and wanted to shout for joy, even if he had probably just killed whoever was in that helicopter.

The copter stopped spinning and immediately after it stilled, Kitty phased Evan out of the side, Kurt ported Rouge outside, and the hatch flew off as Toad, Wolverine, Storm, and Mystique climbed out. "Knock knock."

Oh, how clever she was! Luke wanted to laugh at Mystique's little opening line but couldn't. After all, he was still stuck being his own self conscious or something.

Mystique let out a battle cry before flipping out of the helicopter and beginning her kicking assault on Magneto, shouting out between attacks "You know damn well that I only told them what they needed to know for your sake, Eric. You left me out to dry and now it's time for vengeance!"

If his body hadn't been forced to help protect Magneto, Luke would've loved watching Mystique fight him. She was kicking his can all over the place, literally. Hell hath no furry as a woman scorned, Luke supposed. But when he stepped in, he sent the blue-skinned woman flying with a mere hand gesture. Springload soon took after the woman, the two jumping and flipping around trying to outdo each other in a type of combat only trained acrobats could do.

Wolverine had jumped on top of the glass tubing and shredded the wires, freeing Xavier and Jean. "Where's the X-jet?" Wolverine questioned, shouting over the sounds of other little battles taking place.

"The observation deck." Charles replied, raising his voice as well to be heard over the fights.

"Gather there!" Wolverine shouted, right before being stomped straight through the glass tubing he was on and through the floor beneath by Sabretooth.

The Professor turned to Jean and ordered "Go! Prepare the X-jet. I'll take care of Luke and get the other ones there. Hurry!" Telepathically, he called to Storm and asked _'Please go with Jean and have the X-jet prepped for immediate takeoff. I fear we will have to leave here in a hurry.'_ The woman flew from the plane and towards the jet, guided by Xavier's instruction.

Jean took off as ordered and Xavier wheeled his chair around to find Luke. Meanwhile, the other X-men were fighting their own fights, with some luck. The Blob had charged Nightcrawler, who had his back to the vault door wall, pinned. The Blob came thundering in, only for Kurt to vanish in a crack of smoke and reappear behind Blob, kicking him forward and making him continue into the metal wall, wear his head collided with a resounding _thud. _The large mutant hit the ground hard and stayed there, thoroughly dazed as the vault door swung open from the impact of Blob's head.

Avalanche and Crystal had teamed up against Spyke, using their combined powers to send rolling waves of sharp crystal at him. He would've been shredded if not for Kitty's timely intervention, pulling the bleach-blonde boy through the floor. When the floor had settled, Crystal and Avalanche didn't see any sign of Spyke and turned to each other only to be hit by flying side-kicks to the head from Kitty and Evan. The two collapsed side by side, groaning in pain near the Blob's crumpled form.

Nearby Mystique, Toad had taken his up his beef with Magneto over not being chosen, leaping after the man who hovered away while sending to spinning pipes at the slimy mutant. Toad was too agile to be hit by the pipes and caught one with his hand and the other with his tongue. "Is that all you got, bucket brain?" Toad taunted, only to be tossed through the air by the metal pipes he was still holding. The boy hit Mystique, who had been knocking into the air by a strong hit from Terrence. When the two collided, Mystique was knocked into the open walkway that led to the Gems of Cytorak.

"No! Get away from my genetic enhancer!" Magneto bellowed, leaving the two Brotherhood goons to look at each other in confusion and shrug simultaneously.

Spyke, after nailing Avalanche with his kick, had made his way towards the others, trying to regroup. Halfway there, the familiar flash of silver began to encircle him, hitting him with small hits that knocked him about.

"Ready for some more, Evan?" Quicksilver taunted from his whirlwind of speed.

"Been there, done that. Time for a new game!" Evan shouted sending out spikes to stop Pietro in his tracks. The blur stopped muttering "Whoa, tire hazard!" Rouge stepped out of the shadows and tapped the speedster on the face with her ungloved hand, sending the teen to the floor in a heap.

Luke watched all of this from his position in the middle of the room. Rocks had come tumbling down from the ceiling around him and he knew that the place was going to collapse on itself. But he could do a thing. He couldn't control his body and Magneto was instructing him to move any more. So he had to watch as his teammates cleaned up shop without him, beating the Brotherhood and sending them running for the jet with their metaphorical tails between their legs. And he watched all of that while Scott and Alex shook his body and shouted at him, trying to get him to respond. As if he could when he couldn't earlier. As if he wouldn't even though he was going to die if he didn't get to the X-jet.

Xavier finally made his way over and began to search through his mutant student's mind, beginning to swipe away at the sentient being that was waiting on Magneto's orders. More rocks came down and Scott blasted them apart before they could squash the group. Xavier stopped his mind clearing and began to order "Take Luke to the Blackbird. There's no sense of clearing his mind if we all die. I'll help him there."

Scott and Alex grabbed the still rigid body of Luke and began to pull him along towards the jet, only for Magneto to shout "Luke, defend me!" A ripple appeared between Luke and the two brothers, knocking them away. Luke's body then began to float off towards Magneto, who was still being attacked by an angry and enhanced Mystique. Scott and Alex tried to go after him, but the roof collapsed again, blocking them off.

"Come on. Eric will keep him alive and we will find him later and free him. I promise."

At those words, Scott turned and pushed Xavier's wheelchair towards the jet as fast as he could. Inside, his stomach was cutting flips over abandoning Luke yet again. The teen had gotten himself brainwashed and was now in the hands of a dangerous mutant because of him. He hadn't blasted Magneto when he had his shot and he let the teen take his place in the enhancement chamber. He had failed Luke as the leader of the X-men and as a friend.

All of that inner turmoil was knocked aside when they made it to the jet and barely made it out of the asteroid, which exploded violently as soon as they made it out. Scott and Alex both had to shoot down fragments of the asteroid to protect the Blackbird as the full plane made it's way back to Bayville, minus one X-man.

Scott took a seat beside Xavier, silently berating himself because he couldn't say out loud what he was feeling. It was pathetic how he felt. Xavier simply put a hand on his elder student's shoulder and told him "I saw three of Magneto's orbs leave the asteroid before it blew. And I could guarantee that Mystique found her own way off of the asteroid. We will find him Scott, just like before. And it wasn't entirely your fault. It was mine as well. For now, just rest knowing that we're all safe."

* * *

><p>AN: Pretty good season finale, huh? I thought it was pretty cool myself. And I know that the whole 'kidnapping' thing is a little cliché by now, but I think you guys can grit your teeth through it. I had to get Luke some personal time with Magneto without him defecting from the X-men. I also explained the gist of the MystiqueMagneto beef and I plan to finish that explanation later. I hope you guys are a little interested by what Magneto and Xavier were talking about with Luke. That'll play a large chunk of his back story, which will come up later as I fit it in the plot. So for now, enjoy the chapter, as I'm taking a breather for a bit to work on other things I probably won't publish any time soon. But I want to play around a little, so I finished this for you guys so you wouldn't be waiting on me to get done goofing around.

I shouldn't have to explain the song title origins, as it's pretty famous. It's Eminem's theme for 8 Mile and the anthem for a Chrysler commercial. Review if you have any comments, both positive and negative about the chapter. It'll make me happier than you think. Until next time, BigWillis out!


	19. Won't Back Down

AN: Well, readers, we've come a long way. In 18 chapters, I covered about 3/4ths of the first season and got 100k words out of it. So I'm shooting for another 100 by the end of this season. And maybe less of it will be author's notes and more awesomeness. A little forewarning though. Some characters from the series have been plucked out because either I don't like them that well or because I have them busy doing something else. You'll see what I mean by the end of the chapter I hope. Disclaimer: I don't own X-men Evolution. Dang it. And I only own a copy of Asura's Wrath, not any actual licensing. Double dang it!

Chapter 19

Won't Back Down

The yard was full of kids. Too many kids. Powers were flashing all over the place as a makeshift play battle erupted with no sides and no victors. It was a mere game between kids. A fun, supernatural, and possibly fatal game between kids who were coming into their own respective talents. Talents like sending beams of ice that flash froze any surface, speeding up one's body to the point of becoming an uncontrollable wrecking ball, or creating small spheres of explosive energy.

Logan didn't like it. The yard was full of kids. Mutant kids. There was no order, no discipline in them. They didn't have the slightest of a clue what they were doing really meant.

"So those are the new recruits? Hmm, looks like we've got our hands full."

Xavier answered as calmly as ever, looking out of his office window alongside his old friend and instructor, "Yes, they sure are a lively bunch. It'll be even more of a challenge than normal to keep a lid on things and maintain our secrets."

"And maintaining the buildings too. We're definitely gonna need more instructors." Logan stated, turning from the window as he felt someone's presence near the office door.

"I do believe that's where I come in." The voice was matched by a young woman that was ever so familiar to the two men. She stepped into the office and walked to the Professor and gave him a small hug, before patting Logan on the arm in a warm gesture.

"Rebecca! How nice to see you gain. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Charles asked, not wanting to probe into her mind for the answer even though her excitement made it hard not to pick up on the thoughts.

"Yeah, I thought you had some cushy job teaching kids out in the sticks? What're you doing back up here for?" Logan furthered, not sure how to take the woman's presence. He didn't have a problem with old students, but this one had left on a bitter note. Rebecca was Logan's and Storm's first real student and she had left both of them sourly.

Rebecca's smile slipped a little, which meant she must've heard something behind Logan's voice, but she strengthened it and came back with a cheery reply "I'd like to enroll as part of the Institute's staff, if you'll have me. I spent enough time away from here to get my head on straight and realize I wanted to teach on a more personal level with people I could connect with better. And who better to teach than the people I see at their fullest and where better to teach than right here at home?"

Xavier chuckled as he folded his hands across his lap and looked over to Logan, saying "And to think you were worried. It seems we've got capable hands eager to guide our new recruits after all."

Before Logan could respond with anything more than a grunt, Storm walked in and immediately stopped in her tracks at seeing her old student standing in the office. Storm didn't seem to know what to do for a moment, but Rebecca scurried over to the white-haired beauty and wrapped her in a tight hug, before letting go and squealing "Oh, Mrs. Ororo it's so good to see you! I missed you so much. And you haven't changed a bit either!"

The weather witch almost looked baffled for a moment, but the elder woman put her hands on Rebecca's shoulders to hold her still and look the woman over.

"Oh my, how you have grown, child. I've missed you dearly as well."

The two wrapped in another brief hug before separating and Storm looked to Charles for an explanation.

Charles obliged and gestured with his hand "Ororo, meet your newest fellow staff mate. Rebecca here has asked to help instruct our new recruits and as such I'm sure you'd love to spend some time with her and show her a few things. As a matter of fact, I'm sure they would all enjoy being introduced to the kitchen area sometime soon after we finish talking."

The two women nodded, before Ororo remembered why she had come into the office. "Professor, I believe you may want to look at this."

Storm walked over to a small monitor on the wall and cut it on, showing the local news. The station was broadcasting a small bridge in the downtown area, where some car had broken through the side railing and was teetering dangerously on the edge. The car eventually tipped over and nose-dived straight towards a school bus beneath it, filled with children. But before it could reach the bus, the car suddenly altered course and landed nose first into the hard asphalt below.

The car was ruined beyond a doubt, but the supposed driver stumbled out from beneath the shadows of the bridge and was immediately handcuffed by a nearby officer. Thee rollback on the footage stopped as the anchorwoman began to comment on the mysterious circumstance of the accident and the adverting of a disaster.

Storm cut the TV of and the Professor began to think out loud to himself. "This was definitely mutant involvement, but it seems that the mutant never revealed themself to the public, fortunately. But who could've averted such a thing? Prophetess, did you pick anything up on the accident when it happened?"

Attention shifted back to Rebecca as the woman began to sift through past foresights, back to anything related to what she had seen. It was straining on the woman, but under the pressure of her old mentors, she had to do it. She found what she was looking for amid all of the flashes and began to explain what she could, making sure not to lose focus lest she slip back into the vision.

"What I saw was similar to what you all saw, but from a different perspective. The vision didn't show the driver making it out of the car, rather, he died in the accident but still avoided the bus. The whole vision was offset by some sense of relief. It was almost as if the mutant was in pain but interfering with the accident helped. Weird."

The three older instructors shared looks, trying to piece together more from what they had learned, but none of them came up with much. A shout from somewhere inside the mansion caught the attention of the staff and before long, Scott, Kurt and Kitty all came rushing into the room.

"Professor, have you seen the news? There was a car wreck that was real bad and these kids were gonna get hurt but, like, something stopped the car while Kurt got the driver out and no one saw us or anything but it was so weird. That car just got pushed through the air or something!" Kitty spouted out, not taking a single breath during her entire story telling. Then, after a few brief seconds of eye-contact, the girl noticed that there was a new person in the room.

Kitty slapped her hands over her mouth and was terrified for a moment before she noticed nobody else freaking out and decided to relax a bit. The normally impatient girl finished calming down and waited for someone to explain to her why there was a stranger in the room.

"It just finished airing Kitty. We all saw it and were wondering who could've caused it. Thank you for trying to inform us of this matter, anyways. But since you three are here, I'd like to introduce you to one of my older students and your newest instructor, Rebecca."

The strange new woman stepped forward and shook hands with Kitty and Kurt, before stopping in front of Scott. The tall teen sensed that something was about to be said and stooped down a little due to how short the woman was to him. As he did so, Rebecca reached up and stood on her tip-toes to ruffle the shades wearing teen's hair.

"I bet you don't remember that much of me, huh hot shot? Oh, you were a little squirt when you first got here. You always ran behind the Professor's chair when anyone else came around, but you had the strangest sense to practice using your eyes on shiny stuff. I'm sure you've changed a lot now that you're all grown up."

Scott stood rigid for a moment before scratching the back of his head a little. "I don't really remember you. Sorry. I can't say it's nice to meet you since you already know me, but I'm glad that you're back at the institute. I think we'll need you now more than ever."

Rebecca turned and gave a pointed look to Charles before smirking "You sure do have one heck of a boy scout here. What did you do to him when I left, put him in boot camp?"

A faint proclamation of "Hey!" came out from Scott while the others laughed, but Xavier decided to shift out of casual conversation and more towards business.

"Storm, why don't you take Rebecca down to go gather the new recruits into the dining room and tell them to prepare for dinner. Afterwards, Rebecca, take them down the Danger Room and let them get to know each other in a more team-oriented way than redecorating my front lawn."

With a nod, the two women left the office to go get the new kids. The three X-men followed shortly afterwards, waving the Professor and their instructor goodbye as they went to go enjoy their afternoon.

Insert Line

Rebecca was irritated. And rightfully so, if you were to look at her condition when Storm left her alone with a group of teenage mutants inside an incredibly dangerous room. Somehow, along the way from the dining hall to the room they were currently in, she had acquired frost on her shoe, a small burn on the sleeve of her shirt, and every now and then she would shudder and resist the urge to fall asleep. All the while, a girl followed her every step, begging for the chance to help fix things all the while breaking vases and knocking paintings off the wall.

Currently, her young charges were lined up side by side in a straight line, wearing similar training uniforms and fidgeting around nervously. Rebecca fought the urge to clutch her head at all of the visions flashing in her mind, but oddly enough, she didn't get the normal headache from multiple visions.

"All right then, now that we've all gathered here, why don't we all take the time to get to know one another. I'll start. My name is Rebecca Anderson and I'll be your main instructor until you move up to the actual X-men. My powers allow me to see brief visions of future uses of mutant powers, so yes, that does mean I'll know when you use them to try and break the rules. When I was a student here myself a few years ago, my codename during training was Prophetess, so you may address me as that or Mrs. Anderson if you like. Any questions or comments?"

One brown haired boy raised his hand in the air before asking, a small smile forming on his face "So do you have visions of yourself having visions?"

A small spike in blood pressure and a few calm breaths later, Rebecca promptly replied "No. Now if you would, go ahead and introduce yourself to the rest of us and let us know what you can do."

The kid shrugged his shoulders and said "My name is Bobby Drake and I'm super cool."

Another boy farther down the line snorted, saying "Oh yeah, you don't seem all that cool to me."

Bobby gave the boy that spoke up a look before holding his hand out and shooting an crackling ice blue beam at the boy's feet, leaving them incased in ice, much to the boy's displeasure. A small volt of electricity jumped from the boy's hand and to his feet, melting the ice and shattering it all over the floor.

"I'm Ray. And I can shock stuff real good. Especially jerks and pretty boys." Ray had balled up his fists and small bolts were jumping off of it, as well as running through his spiked blonde hair.

Bobby stepped up, pointing his hands to himself "Oh, you think you want some of the Iceman big guy? Well step on up and see how much static you can make when you're a human popsicle."

Another girl stepped up, a tall, light brunette. She flung her arms out in between the two boys and shouted "Cut it out you guys! We can't fight on the first day. They'll kick us all out." While she said that, the two boys swayed on their feet as silly grins crossed their faces. The girl shrieked, before jumping back into line and started to drill holes into the floor near her shoes.

Rebecca just stepped forward and began snapping her fingers in front of the boy's eyes, getting them to focus. Once they were back in reality, she stepped over to the mollified girl and put her hand on her shoulder, gently voicing "It's ok. They're fine. You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie. They're perfectly ok. Why don't you tell us your name and what you did? It seemed like it made those two feel a lot better towards each other, so you did us all a favor. So come on. We're all friends here."

Being in close to the girl made Rebecca realize why her headaches were gone, even though she had visions flashing away in her mind. The girl had an aura about her that made pain go away. Everything around the girl felt…better. It was incredible.

The girl lifted her head and looked into the eyes of her new teacher, emotion wavering in her watery blue eyes. "I'm Katie and my powers take away people's sense of feeling. I can't stop no matter how hard I try. People get around me and they go numb. And after that, they start acting weird, like nothing can hurt them."

Rebecca took another step forward and hugged the girl, who was tall enough to still look over the woman's head at the others. "You'll be fine here. We'll take care of you."

The next girl in the line turned to Katie and introduced herself "I'm Amara. All I can do it burn things and turn into molten lava. I wish my powers helped like yours did."

Katie brightened a little, but didn't say anything else. Rebecca could sense the budding friendship, but moved on down the line anyways, past ray and onto the girl who had been persistently pestering her early about fixing things. Now that Rebecca wasn't ignoring her, the teacher noted how accident prone the girl seemed. There were small holes and stains all over her clothes and her hair seemed to further promote the notion. It was a assortment of multiple colors all dyed at random, it seemed. Green, the most prominent color, seemed to match her eyes.

"Hey! I'm Marley. My parents always say they never named me after the singer but I'm not sure. I think I found one of his old records in my parents room before though. So anyways, my name is Marley, like I said, but I can fix things. I can change them back to what they were before. Watch!"

The girl stretched her hands in front of her, palms out towards her instructor. Before the woman could say anything to dissuade her pupil, a yellow beam shot out of her hand and hit the woman before erupting in a bright light.

The other students watched in shock and a bit of apprehension as the light faded. Some expected to see nothing left of the woman but a smoldering pile of ashes. But the woman did emerge, although nothing seemed different. Marley didn't see it this way and began to jump up and down in one spot.

"See! I didn't kill her! She's all fixed now! Look at her shoes."

Everyone did and saw that they had indeed been repaired from the frosting that had covered them before. Rebecca cleared her throat and diverted the attention off of her feet and back to her.

"Let's get back to introducing ourselves, shall we? And no more power demonstrations on people without explicit permission. We're trying to keep this first session as safe as possible."

Ray had already introduced himself and his powers, so the next new mutant was a younger boy, the youngest of the entire group, who smiled cheerily at his teacher before introducing himself.

"I'm Jamie! And I can make copies of myself."

"Really? Well that seems quite useful. Would you care to give us a demonstration?"

Jamie's smile faltered as he began to rub on his shoulder and muttered out "Well, I can't exactly do it on purpose. It happens on accident."

The other kids all snickered at this, laughing at the younger boy's inability to control his powers, even though it was doubtful they had control of their own powers, let alone at Jamie's age.

"That's perfectly fine, Jamie. That's why we're all here. You'll figure it out soon enough. Now you last two, move it along. We've got to get you all started before it gets to late into the night."

The last two looked at each other, before the girl nudged the boy forward and muttered "Well go on, hick."

The boy winked at her and said "Ladies first."

With a sigh, the girl began to introduce herself "I'm Tabitha and I like to make things go 'Boom' if you know what I'm talking about." A small marble sized sphere of yellow energy grew in her palm and with a flick, the ball was sent rolling along the floor where it detonated in a _boom_ that left scorch marks on the floor. Rebecca didn't need her foresight to see that the girl would be a lot of trouble, but welcomed the girl regardless. If she could handle public school students, she could handle a few high school students with super powers.

The last boy pointed his thumb into his chest and said "I'm Sam. How're all y'all doin'? I'm real glad to be here with y'all at the institute." Correcting grammar was a habit that died hard, and dear lord did she want to, but Rebecca pushed down the notion and let him finish. The boy was good natured and meant well, but that accent and the poor grammar made Rebecca not like him. It wasn't something that could be avoided, no matter how much Rebecca would deny it later. At least the boy was overly polite and sweet.

That reminded her of how exactly opposite he was of how Luke was. Luke. She hadn't seen him around, surprisingly. She figured that karma or Murphy's Law or something would force the two to meet up. She wasn't looking forward to it at all. She just knew he would say something about changing careers just to be around him.

Focusing back on her actual students instead of her old one, she was about to give them instructions to get ready for warm ups, when a strong vision overtook her senses. Even though there wasn't the normal pain from it, it was still disgruntling and as she closed her eyes, she felt herself slipping into a new environment.

She was in a green field, surrounded by stands. There were bright lights shining down on her and the field began to shake and quiver before splitting into a ravine. There was a blur running around a man, going so fast the wind created by the speedster picked the man up inside a vortex. She watched as a frog boy shot his absurdly long tongue out and latch onto her wrist, then her perspective changed.

She was hovering in the air, well above a sports field. People below her were scurrying about, running around like chickens with their heads cut off. A few figures were out and battling and she recognized the red beam that was Cyclops's signature. From her spot in the air, Prophetess saw arms outstretch and grip at something in the air, before dragging together. Below on the ground, the football field mended itself and pulled back together, throwing all of the combatants to their knees.

Marks were left on the turf, and from the sky, it looked like they were fingerprints dug into the ground, as if a giant hand drug the ravine shut. Then, the figure began to leave. He turned to float off, but another figure was waiting on him, cloaked in darkness and indiscernible. All around the figure, metal objects began to float around in a whirlwind. A powerful force, power incarnate, began to resonate through the sky as the figure spoke.

"Where do you think you're going? You still have orders. Now go down there and wipe them all out!"

Rebecca's perspective changed and returned to the field. She was seeing things from a seated position, leading her to believe that she was seeing Charles' view. Faintly, to the side of her peripherals, she could see a news van fold up into one twisted metal ball, but that was insignificant. Because out of the visitor's field emerged 4 figures and even through the vision, Rebecca could still feel how upsetting that was to the Professor. Something was bad wrong. This couldn't happen, or the whole world would be exposed to mutants, not just to the shadows hidden in dark places.

Rebecca felt the floor come back beneath her feet and her knees go weak, but as she opened her eyes and saw her students all staring at her with concern, she knew that something must be done.

"Stay here! I'll have Logan run your first session for you, but do not leave the mansion and do exactly as he says. I've got to go see the Professor."

The woman turned to leave, but Bobby asked "Didn't the Professor already leave to go to some soccer game? I don't even think he's at the mansion right now."

It took a great deal of professionalism to keep from swearing in front of her kids, but Rebecca left the Danger Room without cussing once. Once she did, she broke out into a run and made for the elevator to the garage. The long hall gave Prophetess the time to regret falling out of shape, as her legs began to protests the strain after only being used for standing instead of running for so long. When she reached the elevator, she could feel the seconds tick by as it came down to get her, then carry her back up. When she reached topside, she began to shout out for her fellow instructors.

"Logan! Ororo! We've got a disaster on our hands. I need some help."

Logan's came out of the kitchen immediately, claws outstretched and at the ready.

"For crying out loud, you've only had the kids 15 minutes. What've you done?"

"There's gonna be an attack at the game. I need you to watch the younger kids while me and Storm go to warn the Professor."

The look on Logan's face showed he instantly disagreed, but Prophetess didn't have time to argue with the stubborn man. Storm poked her head over the balcony, already suited up and ready to go. The white-haired woman floated over the railing and landed in the foyer below, setting a brisk walk to the garage.

"Come on, child. Logan will watch the children while we take care of this new development. Maybe along the way you can explain just what you saw."

Rebecca followed, shooting a look of thankfulness at the already leaving Logan before entering the garage.

It was bigger than she remembered, which meant it had probably been expanded to make room for the mansion's vehicles as well as the multiple personal vehicles. Logan's bike was parked in one corner, alongside another motorcycle that was more of a street bike than a Harley. While she slipped into the passenger seat of a the mansion's X-van, she idly noted "I guess Logan invested in a back up bike in case he crashed his first toy, right?"

Storm waited for the garage to open before she gunned the acceleration pedal, getting her passenger to buckle up quickly and grab on the door handle securely. After she made it outside of the mansion gate, Storm looked over to her passenger and said "That's one of our student's. Logan would never dare drive something that small. It upsets his masculinity or something like that."

Prophetess weakly chuckled as she clutched her eyes shut as Ororo went through a curve. How could she forget her promise to never get in another car with this woman? Rebecca loved Storm like a dear older sister, but the weather mistress just couldn't drive safely.

When the two women finally made it to the game, they left the car and hurried over to the Professor, who was seated near the edge of the bleachers due to his disability. It didn't take but a moment to wheel the man off towards a more secluded area, while everyone was so distracted by the game.

Xavier reacted well, inquiringly calmly as to why two of his staff had come to him. "What seems the problem that you would've left the younger students with Logan to come see me? I'm sure it must be serious."

Rebecca took a moment to take a deep breathe, before concentrating. "It'd be better to just show you. I'm sure you could make more sense of it than I could."

So the Professor took a more subtle approach than grabbing her head like he normally would do, but gripped her wrist and began to close out his other senses while extending his mental one. He connected with Rebecca and pushed aside any personal thoughts of hers, leaving her thoughtless as he drew her memory of prophesying back to the forefront of her mind.

The scenes came rushing through her mind again, slower than before as the Professor took the time to sort through every moment. And the sensations had changed. Before, there was no slime wrapped around her wrist or a numbing pain encasing her hovering form. Now, without the presence of Katie, the vision explained even more.

The Professor broke contact after finishing the vision and turned back to the game, calling out telepathically to his students, warning them to get to the Brotherhood before it was too late. His warning was in vain. Xavier watched alongside Ororo and Rebecca as Lance Alvers exposed mutants to the world by splitting the soccer field in half, sending two girls plummeting down. One caught herself, the other wouldn't have been as lucky if not for Jean's extended hand.

Chaos was born. A bright flash of red erupted from the stands, knocking Lance off of the announcer's box and into the stands where he tumbled down in a painful mess. The X-men left the stands and split up, Kitty and Evan going after the news van to sabotage it, but as they arrived, the van began to fold itself up into a giant metal ball. The people inside barely made it out, screaming their heads off in fright.

The Blob trudged his way up the stands, leaving a trail of destruction behind him as he reached to grab the new Bayville mascot, a flaming hawk. The gargantuan teen tore it off of it's stand and turned to the field, aiming to throw it, only for it to be pulled out of his hands by some unknown force. Fred looked up to see a few faint figures in the sky above him and shouted, pointing a large meaty finger.

"Magneto! He's here. Springload, do something!"

Terrence looked up from his spot in the stands where he was watching Quicksilver torture his principal in a vortex of speed, spotting the floating figures. Charging his powers for a moment, Springload smashed the wooden seat beside him and broke off a large chunk of wood. No metals on that. Cocking back his arm for his throw, he felt his throwing arm get jerked back behind him, contorting it to a sickening angle and making him drop the makeshift projectile.

A better look at the floating targets made Springload stop and reconsider his entire game plan. He and the guys had just planned on terrorizing the game to get some respect, to set themselves apart from all the other losers in town. They didn't expect Magneto to show up. And especially not with _that guy_ as backup.

A shout of warning from Crystal rang through the stands, causing every hair on Terrence's body to stand on end. Instinctively, his muscles clenched and released as Terrence back flipped over a flying sphere of yellow fiery energy. It collided with the stands and shredded the wood, but Springload was too busy cursing up a storm to care about the innocent wood. What were these guys doing here too?

From the visitor's side of the field came 4 figures and Springload recognized all of them. Three of them were Network mutants that were at the lab out in the woods up north. It was the leader, still completely covered from head to toe, the brightly colored Asian man, and the most fashionable of the bunch was the one dressed in mostly black and with goggles strapped to his head. The last one was that damned mutant from Denver, now dressed in a padded leather uniform that was dark green in color. It was a fair guess to say he had been recruited to work with those guys, seeing as they were standing side by side in the middle of the field.

The Brotherhood and X-men had stopped their fights and turned to see the newcomers, everyone now targeting them. Those guys were the serious threat out of all the madness that was going on, after all. Amanda turned from fighting Rouge to grow a patch of sharp, piercing crystals in the midst of the four, but the attack as a whole failed.

The illusionists vanished from sight, never reappearing as his image dissolved around the spikes imbedded in his limbs. One just simply began fighting Nightcrawler and Spyke, shooting white shrapnel from his fingertips to return fire at Evan while Kurt moved the two around evasively. The wounds from the crystal impalements showed to be only flesh wounds as they never pierced bone for some reason, so the sniper was hardly bothered, let alone disabled like Crystal had wanted.

The scariest of the four, the one from Denver, merely shattered the crystals as they came at him, breaking them with a sharp set of martial arts before tunneling back in on Springload and firing off more blasts of various colored energy. The agile acrobat avoided all of them successfully, but was in no position to counterattack until Jean started helping, flinging various debris at the game channeling mutant.

The last of the four to be hit by crystals was the most affected, physically anyways. The mutant dispersed into a giant puddle of water before reforming away from the crystal. The body then began to attack Amanda, dissolving part of it's hand in order to shoot a wave of water at her. Halfway there, the water reformed into an oversized fist that was opaque, but still harmful looking. Kitty tackled the blonde cheerleader out of the way and phased her to safety as the fist crashed into the turf, tearing it up even further and leaving a puddle that slowly reformed and gathered to the original body.

Scott and Lance went back to fighting, mostly using their physical strength rather than just powers. Cyclops couldn't use his optic beams due to his hands being tied from opening his visor while he was locked in his tussle with Avalanche. The rock shifting mutant couldn't focus enough to use his powers, otherwise he would have a definite advantage in the struggle.

Quicksilver and Toad were being tricked into fighting each other and Rouge as well, but soon realized it when Rouge called out to the Brotherhood boys for a truce and explained that she wasn't Mystique like they saw her to be. Mentally, Rouge was thanking the Professor who had told her what was going on, but she didn't hear a reply as she began to protect herself from false, illusion animals while trying to find the illusionist himself.

The Professor stayed connected with Rebecca in order to see what was going on during the fighting all at once. The poor woman was having a fit dealing with all of the visions happening at once and while he tried to ease that, he was also using it. His main concern was the two mutants hovering in the air. He knew one was Magneto and he had his suspicions of the other mutant with him. Xavier began to expand his mental senses upward, to get a better feel of the two, only to be stopped by the same mental presence that he had felt before in the labs.

'_Charles, it would seem that we meet again. Only this time, I would say the circumstances are much less in your favor. I believe it's time for us to discuss a few things, don't you?'_

'_What do you want? Why have you interfered with this game? What do you gain from fighting my students and a group of outcast mutants?'_

'_This isn't entirely for you.' _The mental voice seemed to chuckle at the suggestion. _'While you were my squad's primary objective, new data has made you a secondary priority. No, we are here for him.'_

The implication behind the statement was obvious to Xavier as he looked up to the two floating figures above the field. It seemed that the two were locked in an argument, but Xavier didn't dare expand his consciousness more than he already had with another telepath around. Magneto needed to be warned, that much was certain. Whatever this man wanted with Eric would not be good.

"Storm, go warn Magneto. Tell him he's been tricked into coming and that he should take his friend and leave. Now."

Ororo left his side, taking to the air with the winds lifting her, rising to the level that the two mutants were on. As she got closer, Storm realized that the figure arguing with Magneto was someone she knew. Someone she had taught. Someone she had treated like family. What was Gyro doing here?

"Luke? Child, what are you doing here? How are you even flying? Magneto, what have you done to him?"

The master of magnetism turned away from Luke to focus on Storm, looking her over for moment to judge her intentions. After a moment, an invisible tension slipped away and the man began to explain.

"I've taken Luke farther than he ever would've gone before. And now he's working out his service for me. But enough of that. What does Charles want? Hurry up and be out with it, as me and the child still have bugs to squash."

"Xavier sent me to warn you that you've been tricked into coming. There are men down there here for you, Magneto, and Xavier believes it best for you to leave. You can't beat them by yourself, Magneto."

While Storm was saying this, she was trying to make eye contact with Luke, to make some kind of connection to the otherwise silent teen. A fear began to creep into Storm that something was indeed wrong with Luke. Mental interference wouldn't be that far of a stretch for someone like Magneto to get his way and the man certainly had the resources.

Magneto chuckled out loud, before pulling on the metals beneath him and lifting a majority of the stands. The metal began to creak and groan as the mutant compressed the metal down into a dense ball of silver metal the size of a basketball. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it hurtling towards the ground below, and at one person in particular.

The metal sphere hit the ground with enough force to rattle the field and interrupt all the others fighting on the ground. In awe, most of the teenagers saw the gaping hole in the cloaked man's chest, large enough for them to see each other clearly through. And then, as the body began to fall, it turned back to water in a puddle on the ground. It slithered away and began to reform, hovering as a giant sphere of water in the air as it began to take the human shape again.

Magneto scowled from his spot in the air and ignored Storm's cries of protests as he turned to the teen beside him. "I want you to contain the body while I seal it. Then, I want you to teach them all what it means to cross the savior of mutant kind."

Luke gained some sense of awareness when spoken to and talked back, surprising Storm.

"I'm not gonna fight my old team. And there's no sense in me challenging the Brotherhood. They aren't our reason for being here."

"You will do as I say, Gyro and you will do it without fail. Now go!"

Storm watched in horror as Luke turned to the ground beneath him and drew his hands back before slamming them together in a clap. The woman could feel the power unleashed as gravity doubled down over the soccer field, knocking everyone face first to the ground. The body of water seemed to defy the wave of gravity, but Storm saw the reason for that.

Gyro had one hand out in a clenched fist, forming a pocket of gravity around the water to keep it from escaping. His other hand was still outstretched in an open palm, steadily applying pressure to the field and the people below.

Storm couldn't bear to watch her makeshift family below being smothered and she flew over to Luke, trying to talk him out of his offense. "Luke, please, stop this! You're hurting your own friends! There's no sense to this. Why are you working for Magneto? Come back to the mansion. We've missed you."

Luke never faltered in his oppression as metal molded around his pocket of the atmosphere, forming an airtight seal around the water body. Once that was done, the metal began to compress down even smaller than before, shrinking down to the size of a baseball. Luke unclenched his fist and thrust his hand out in a palm thrust, sending the metal ball deep into the earth and out of view in a hole.

After this was done, the teen turned to his old teacher, a look of sadness and remorse covering his face. The direct eye contact made the wind rider realize that Luke changed. If anything, his skin had taken a much paler tone, almost looking gray. Storm's mind pushed it aside as the teen seemed to talk again, struggling to spit a few words out, as if something was opposing the action.

"I've missed you guys too. But I can't stop. Get the team out of here in case I actually do hurt one of them. I'm sorry."

Then, Luke's body locked up and began to move almost robotically, going through the motion of thrusting his fist out in a punching motion. For a split second, Storm saw the regret on Luke's face, but that moment ended when she was caught up in a car wreck of blunt force that flipped the woman's world. Ororo began to free fall until Xavier jolted her consciousness so she was aware enough to land much more gracefully than splattering on the hard earth.

Xavier sat in his chair, stone-faced as he clutched onto Rebecca's wrist. He was wiping out what minds he could in the civilian population still around, trapped in by Magneto so they could witness the event, while also fending off the probes the foreign mind of the Director sent at him. It seemed that even without his body near him, the mind could still operate fully. How troublesome. Stretched out as he was mentally, he couldn't comfort Storm like he wanted to, but the chance arose when the X-men found themselves pinned.

He broke off connection to any strange mind and told Kitty to gather them all up so they could retreat if need be. It seemed that the option seemed more viable by the minute. Then, he turned his focus towards Storm. A quick mental tap was all he needed for the woman to show him everything that had happened in the air. When he finished watching it all, Xavier gripped his wheelchair armrest even harder than before.

"Storm, get our kids and make sure they all stick together. I'll need you and Rebecca to help me, but I'm going to attempt to free Luke from whatever Magneto has done to his mind. Something around him is generating psychic static right now. Bring him down here where I can push through it. And we'll need to get rid of the Network team so this Director mind will retreat. Coordinate the team to push the three back and the mind of the leader should follow."

Storm nodded in understanding, leaving her position on the sidelines and flying off towards the field to rally the team. Dark clouds gathered as she flew and thunder rumbled ominously near Magneto and Gyro, who were still hovering well above them all, with Luke still pressing down on the field. Lightening lashed out at the most prominent source of attraction, Magneto himself, but the man sent a piece of his plate armor off to conduct it for him at a safe distance away.

Scott must've fought the intense gravity and rolled over to press his visor, as a red beam lit up the sky and nearly hit the two mutants, only for it to warp and deflect off of an unseen force when the beam came close. Gyro doubled down from his position in the air, pressing even harder on Cyclops to nullify the future threat, but using his powers so much had left his muscles weak. After a moment, the weight on the field lifted as Gyro recovered his vitality and let his muscles regenerate. That moment was all Snipe needed to roll over and take aim, zooming in with his advanced vision in order to take precise aim on the most dangerous threat to his squad and primary objective.

Right as Luke began to press down on the field with his powers, Snipe shot. His aim rang true, as after a moment to aim and fire, a small bone the size of his fingertip but as hard as steel shot through the air faster than a bullet as it pierced through Gyro's chest and out his back. Storm was the only one close enough to see what had happened, but her scream of horror echoed along with Prophetess as Luke began to fall through the sky, lifeless.

For the X-men, the gravity that had oppressed them earlier vanished, only for something much worse to take it's place as their missing teammate fell through the air, being caught by a random assortment of metals and lifted back up towards Magneto.

From the air, the now angry man called down bellow "You think you've won this war? This has just started. You and all of yours will crumble beneath my might and no hiding will save you! But this battle is yours. Charles, clean up this mess for the sake of your precious secrecy. I'll leave it your capable hands."

Insert Line

Xavier hardly heard his old friend speak as he went from mind to mind, wiping out what he could of the recent memories of the small mutant war that had taken place on the soccer field. He just focused on his task at hand and ignored his mental contacts that were all in emotional turmoil at Gyro's fate. There would be time to deal with that later.

As the powerful telepath began to feel the strain from wiping so many minds, he felt some of the pressure ease, much to his surprise as he finished up. Another telepath must've wiped the other civilians already. But the only one here with enough skill to do that was…

'_It is not in my or the Network's interest to go public, especially in a manner like this. Do not mistake this as an alliance, but merely a security measure. My mission with Magneto has been successful and my objective with you is inevitable to avoid. I will give you the chance to comply, so you and your students will save yourselves the pain of defying me.'_

'_Just what exactly do you want from me and my students? You will never get us to swear fealty or align ourselves with a hidden society of criminals and sociopaths. Tell me your intentions and we may be able to help each other, or at least avoid conflict with one another.'_

Xavier was running a risky gambit, but he had little choice. His team was wrecked at the moment, most of them hadn't even peeled themselves off of the turf yet. The Network team had assembled and rounded the Brotherhood into a small cluster. They looked defeated as well, but maybe they could be worked with to drive back these contracted criminals.

'_I've been given orders to wipe every memory you have of Network contact. Any resistance must be met with oppressive force. Our security must be impeccable, after all.'_

Xavier didn't even respond to the mental voice, knowing he couldn't agree to having his memory tampered with. He certainly couldn't let Network operatives into his head, much less his students. He couldn't dare trust them that much. But it seemed he didn't have to. The voice vanished, as did the mental pressure the Director had when Xavier searched for him.

In the cornered Brotherhood group, Avalanche shook his head as if to clear out stray thoughts, before focusing his powers. Snipe took aim at the boy's head, having no way to miss from only a few feet away, but he was nudged by Gameboy to holster his finger.

The Brotherhood didn't know what was going on when Lance suddenly started using his powers, causing the earth to raise and buckle beneath them. All of them rode of the seismic waves while trying to get an answer from Lance, but when the metal orb that contained the Director's water body came back to the surface, Avalanche turned to his team and said "Lance is out for the moment. Give him a second and he'll be back with you."

Lance's body crumpled over as if it lost it's pilot, but Toad and Pietro caught him before he hit the ground. Ass the ground-shaking mutant came to, Springload began to shake his head just like Lance had done earlier. The spring muscled teen walked to the metal orb before cocking his arm back and holding it there for four seconds. The muscles in Terrence's arms could be seen tensed up as hard as they were, up until he let go and his fist smashed through the metal and leaving a hole in the side of it. Water dripped out as Terrence brought out his now broken and mangled fist.

Amanda shuddered in disgust at how obviously broken Springload's hand was, but kept quiet. They were still surrounded by dangerous men, after all. Springload soon crumpled over, hitting the ground and cussing profusely as water gushed out of the metal sphere and took the cloaked form of the Director, as ominous as ever.

"Charles, I'm waiting on an answer. Will you submit you and your team to being wiped? I can't promise that it won't hurt. I can promise that it'll feel like paradise compared to what you'll feel otherwise."

Xavier didn't bother to answer, merely crossing his arms and connecting his mind and mental defenses to everyone of his students as well as the Brotherhood. They would need it in order to avoid being possessed again. Even if they didn't fight with the X-men, it would still be better for them not to be used against his team.

Gameboy must've noticed the shift in the Brotherhood mutants his squad had surrounded as well as the X-men that had now surrounded them. The teen began to crack his knuckles as he began channeling his game of choice again, feeling anger stir up within himself as his skin darkened into a deep red. He felt his own physiology change, his height shifting and his muscle mass swelling. He was taking on more traits of his selected character than he normally did, mostly because this was the main playable character of his selected game. While not a popular or spectacular work, Asura's Wrath was exactly what he looked for in a game to mimic.

The Director took note of his subordinate changing form and called out one last warning to his fellow telepath. "Do you really think you can resist this, Charles? Gameboy wiped all of this riffraff out by himself and would've taken your team out with them if they hadn't of fled. But this time you have no where to run and I have two more of my squad with me."

Xavier's face grimed and he replied with steadfast determination. "I have faith in my students to what must be done, as I always do. Even if that places them against unseemly odds and against an organization such as yours. This is your chance to abort your mission and merely take what success you have with Magneto and leave."

The director chuckled as he raised his hand in a signal to his squad to attack. At the signal, every single Network agent on the field vanished. Xavier instantly knew what had happened and let out a pulse of psychic energy to wipe the illusion being cast over his team. As he did, the illusion shattered, but it was already too late. In the moment they were gone, the squad had already gotten themselves in perfect position to attack.

Xavier had spotted the Director first, standing directly in front of Nightcrawler with his arms crossed. The man uncrossed them in a wide manner before regurgitating a blast of water directly into the blue elf's face that sent him skidding across the field, soaked. In return, the Director's body was blasted apart by a red beam, some of the water composing it evaporating in the process.

As the Director reassembled himself, Xavier spotted the much larger and redder version of Gameboy unleash what would've been a debilitating blow at Shadowcat, but thankfully the girl was aware enough to phase through it and drag the monster of a mutant through the ground. It wouldn't hold him for long, but it gave the girl a moment to regroup with her still conscious teammates.

From what he saw through his contact with Rebecca, he knew that Snipe had reappeared between Crystal and Spyke, firing off bone fragments at the two. Thankfully, both of them had plated themselves in armor through their powers and returned fire. But Snipe was no slouch and was one of Network's best for a good reason. He rolled under Evan's spikes and away from Crystal's prisms and rose in a strong uppercut that knocked Evan off his feet, before getting steamrolled by a telekinetic smash from Jean.

Rouge had been set upon by the foreign illusionist, who appeared behind her and punched her in the sides before ducking her retaliatory kick and landing one of his own on her knee, sending the over extended girl to the ground, where she rolled over and launched herself in a tackle at the man. The man simply dissolved into feathers before her eyes and she was sent to dream land by a sneaky chop to her neck to the reappeared, illusionist.

The man then sent a widespread illusion to the guys of the Brotherhood, who were trying to make their way off of the field and get away from all the fighting. The group stopped, so Xavier assumed the illusion must've taken hold. He expanded his consciousness to try and wipe the illusion from them, but as he did, the mind of the Director attack, much more viciously than before. Xavier held his own, helped by Rebecca's predictions of when and here the mind would strike against his mental defenses. But Charles was weary and tired. He had spent a majority of his strength on wiping out so many minds from remembering all of this, but it seemed that the Director didn't tire.

It was truly marvelous, that seeing as the mind was outside of the body, the Director must've never experienced exhaustion mentally. There was no strain from such a burdening body as his own. So that meant that the Director could keep going strong for much longer than Charles could. How unfortunate. It seemed the Brotherhood would have to sort the delusion out on their own while he tended to the orchestrator of such a troublesome night. And to do so, he would have to drag the mind into the Astral Plane.

It was a very risky plan, because if he lost to the mind while inside that plane, there was a very likely chance he would never make it back out. But the plan had very many benefits that outweighed the risk. If he succeeded in dragging the mind into the Astral Plane for combat, then the Director would be stuck there. It was doubtful that a telepath of his limited skill even knew that the Astral Plane existed, which would only benefit Charles more as a veteran of several intense battles on that plane. One more bonus was that the Director's aquatic body would likely disperse. Even if the Director could control it while projecting his mind completely, the chances of him doing it from the Astral Plane were minimal. Entering the Astral Plane put the telepath's body in a coma-like state and that was another proof of the danger the plane posed.

But it had to be done. Xavier relayed his message to Rebecca telepathically, shielding the message from being received by the Director, who would likely turn tail and run if he heard it. He also told her to contact Jean, who was the only hope the Brotherhood would have to sort out their sanity while he was away. The woman gave her consent, but the man could sense her discomfort with letting her idol slip of into another world.

He pushed it aside and gathered his strength, launching his first real mental attack onto the Director's mind, which quickly went defensive and tried to slither away like a snake. But Xavier's skill as a telepath was not unfounded and the man found a sure grip on the Director and began the telepathic pulling needed to enter the Astral Plane. This would all be over shortly, one way or another.

Rebecca was forced to let go of the Professor as his body went rigid and his signs of life went dim. She expected it but it still unnerved her how unnatural it looked. But the woman had a job to do. The woman quickly spotted Jean across the field while other battles still raged, mostly the large red mutant attempting to demolish everything his hands touched.

With a sigh that belittled her actual determination, the woman complained to herself "I wish I was still in shape." before sprinting off of the sidewalk towards Jean, avoiding what she could of the other fighting. She had made it halfway across the field, head swimming full of visions erupting in her mind's eye, but one stood out that made her stumble to a stop. A small whizzing sound filled her ears, showing how close a small bone came to piercing her abdomen, but the more concerning problem to Prophetess was falling. If she fell, she saw a vision of herself being shot in between the shoulder blades. Wanting to avoid that fate, Rebecca did the best she could to cartwheel, hearing another whizzing sound as a bone went by her face and nicked her ear.

The woman ignored the flaring pain as she started running again. "My thighs are gonna be killing me in the morning." The woman finally reached Jean and explained to her what the Professor wanted. Jean nodded as she looked to disengage from blocking Snipe's bone bullets with a telekinetic shield. Cyclops stepped in, as his earlier opponents had either run away or dispersed into a puddle, and having over heard the message gave her a reassuring tap on the shoulder. The redhead girl dropped her shield as Scott fired his optic beam, making the sniper mutant dive out of the way before returning fire with his index finger extended.

"Move left! Now duck and roll right! Shoot at his left arm!" Prophetess began calling out directions to Cyclops, who promptly complied and obeyed, landing a grazing his on Snipe's shoulder and knocking off his aim. The Network was at a marked disadvantage now, as all of his shots were being predicted and warned of by the power-sensing mutant. That, and the bright red flashes of Cyclops' optic beam made it foolish to zoom in his eyesight on his targets, less he be blinded.

Cursing at his soured luck at hitting his assailant, Snipe soon switched over to firing bone shards at Rebecca, who had a much harder time maneuvering herself to avoid the bones than Scott did. Even as Scott began to open fire more and more with his beams, the assault was steadily getting closer and closer to Rebecca either grazing or nearly grazing her. Finally one connected with the woman' leg, causing her to collapse in a scream. Cyclops opened his visor to the maximum at the now vulnerable Snipe and plowed him into the dirt, leaving a trench that had been dug by the Network agent's body.

Turning to tend to his instructor, he was waved off by the woman, who merely said "I'll be alright. Go help the others. Kurt will port over here in three seconds to move me and the others who are hurt out of here. Help Jean free the Brotherhood and you may have a chance of taking down that monster. Hurry, while Spyke, Crystal, and Storm keep him busy. They won't last long without help."

Cyclops accepted the orders and took off, leaving the woman to choke on a cloud of dark smoke as Kurt arrived, still wet from his earlier dousing. "Anyone want a ride?"

Rebecca chuckled as she held out her hand and before she knew it, she was gone.

Inset Line

Terrence was in very bad shape in a very bad way. His right hand, his dominant one, was completely busted and all but unusable. He couldn't even straighten it back out from the fist it was in. And while having a throbbing, painful useless hand sucked, seeing things made it a hundred times worse. Between nearly breaking his neck avoiding imaginary attacks and trying to attack the man responsible, Springload was wearing himself out. He couldn't keep it up for much longer. Fortunately a voice in his head told him that she could help. Unfortunately, hearing voices in his head made him not want help.

Terrence didn't know what to do, but eventually his eyes adjusted to a bright light and refocused. He was back on the football field, but there weren't any crazy people attacking him from his blind spot. The other guys on his team were snapping out of their delusions too, it seemed. As they regrouped and surveyed the area, they couldn't spot anything other than the large red monster attacking Crystal and two other X-men.

"Where's the damn runt that did this to us? I gotta introduce his face to my foot a few times before we go."

Jean and Cyclops both looked at each other before Jean sent out a psychic pulse. All of the teens turned to look as a voice began curse loudly in what they assumed was Japanese over the sudden severe headache. Cyclops quickly fired a short burst in the area and it connected with a body, making another illusion drop that was cloaking the man as he snuck away. Quicksilver ran to him in the blink of an eye and buried his shoulder into the man's gut, sending him tumbling over to the ground. Toad scurried over and hacked up a huge amount of sticky green spit that glued the man to the grass beneath him.

"That's for making me give myself a black-eye, you lame loony bin. And you got the color scheme completely backwards on Jason's outfit from Friday the 13th. Go rewatch the movie a few more times before you imitate it."

With that, the Brotherhood turned to leave, only for Jean to protest. "You guys are just gonna leave after we saved you? We could use your help dealing with that guy smashing everything into pieces."

Avalanche looked back and asked "Why would we help you losers? Thanks to you guys, nobody respects us. They all saw us get beat by you. Nobody will respect us and stay out of our way. We'll be the laughing stock of the entire town!"

Cyclops shot back "Nobody will remember this Lance. The Professor wiped all of the memories of this. And you're gonna leave your own teammate behind because you guys got your butt kicked by this guy before? Fine. I just didn't realize that all of you little boys were such chickens."

All of the Brotherhood were riled up at this and turned face in order to charge back into the fight against Gameboy, who had knocked Evan across the field, where he lay motionless. The group pressed on, Cyclops firing full force at the red mutant and knocking him away from Crystal. The red mutant turned to see his newest victims and began throwing an insanely large volley of yellow energy at them, which Jean fended off with her mind.

Avalanche sent seismic waves that threw the red mutant off balance and onto his back. While he was down, several crystal shards grew and stabbed into his arms and legs, trying to pin him down. The rock formations soon shattered like fragile glass as the Asura wannabe stood back up, weaken, but also angered enough to overcome his wounds.

In a scream of rage, the red mutant lunged forward, ready to smash the girl that had been annoying him the entire fight. But mid lunge, he was knocked away by a hard punch that rattled his body and stood him midair, courtesy of Springload, who had intercepted him along the way. Blob charged from behind, barreling into the red mutant and sending him face first into the ground, leaving a small trail in the dirt with his face. While he was down, Quicksilver ran over and began doing rapid stomps on the back of his head, trying to knock the mutant out while he was down.

He soon had to flee in order to avoid being swatted aside as the red muscleman swiped at him with a hulking arm. Missing, Gameboy tried to push himself up only for lightening to split the sky and center in on his back, causing him to shout in pain as he was electrocuted. His muscles twitching and not responding, Gameboy collapsed, feeling more pain than anger at the moment as his characteristics he copied from Asura faded.

The Brotherhood let out a resounding cry of cheer as they celebrated their payback to the guy who destroyed them in Denver. The X-men merely picked each other up and began to move towards the others X-men waiting beside Xavier's chair. The man himself was still not back in his own body, but as they all made it to him, Rebecca drove up to them in the X-van.

"Load Professor Xavier up, we can't afford to wait. I'm seeing an attack on the institute and they need our help. Let's go.

And with that, the X-men pushed aside all weariness and loaded the unconscious and their professor into the X-van. Cyclops drove the others back as they headed to defend their home. They still had a long night ahead of them it seemed.

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AN: Well? I think this was a pretty good season intro. It was one big fight that turned out well in my humble opinion. A good bit happened, I killed my OC and life goes on for the X-men having to deal with their problems. The Brotherhood got payback, I got to reference Asura's Wrath, and I may have made a few witty lines somewhere in the chapter. So let me know if you like the season intro and I also want to invite any fan of video games to offer up suggestion for Gameboy. I'm limited on what all he can copy, due to the fact that I don't play fighter games and I'm trying to only use games that would make sense for him to imitate and that fit within his power's guidelines. Read his profile on my profile to get an idea of what I'm talking about. In fact, read everybody's profile, as a few of them have been upgraded at the start of this season. Song title comes from Eminem's Recovery album. Be sure to review or send me a PM on game suggestions! Farewell and until next time, BigWillis, out!


	20. Wake Up

AN: I'm sorry for dragging my feet on this one guys. There isn't much of an excuse for my tardiness, but I'm kinda in trouble for writing this in the first place. My sorry butt got grounded for letting my grades dip in Spanish. I'm not supposed to use any electronics aside my phone until I get an A in there. Fat chance. So this chapter comes to you from a LOT of secretive work done late at night. Disclaimer: I don't own X-men Evolution or any of Marvel's products. But one day, one sweet sweet day, I will own a personal fountain that is constantly flowing with the deliciousness that is Dr. Pepper.

Chapter 20

Wake Up

"Caliban, there are no excuses! I need you to find me a solution for our problem right now. And do _not_ even think of mentioning her name as a possible solution. You know full well why she wouldn't suffice for this one."

As odd as it was that the man seemed to be talking to nothing but the air, it was even odder that he was floating in it miles above the ground and prying eyes. More odd still was the limp body dangling beside the man, lifted by an assortment of metals that formed together like a metallic flying carpet. Despite the oddities of his current situation, the speaker ignored the world as he focused on the voice filtering through the air and traveling directly towards him via his right hand, DJ.

"Caliban says that he may have found a cure, but it's no guarantee. Take him to the mansion on the hill and find the one that calls herself Revert. She will be able to mend his body, but as you know, only _she_ can bring his soul back if he's departed. Hurry, Magnus. Caliban can sense your protégé's powers fading and he tells me that two others are planning to visit the same place your target is. If his senses are right, then it would be the two missing members of Squad 16 that weren't at the field with you. Caliban is unsure of whether of not the two are after your target, but it would be best to presume that their presence there is not good. Otherwise, the only trained adversary you will find there is the man called Wolverine."

"Good. Wolverine will protect his young and attack the two so savagely that he won't notice me sneaking one off. And if he does, a man made of metal cannot harm me. Our strongest weapon will be restored before this night is over with, and mark my words, Darius, our enemies will pay for giving him the opportunity to recover."

With an objective in hand, Magneto redirected himself and the flying metal carrying Gyro. They were headed towards Gyro's old home. To Magneto's oldest friend's mansion. They were headed to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

* * *

><p>Eyes shifted back and forth, darting from anyone to everyone in seconds. No one would dare make eye contact, for fear of being reprimanded for it, or worse. At that very moment, tucked away in their new school in a strange room underground stuck with a strange burly man, eight preteen mutants stood in line and all but trembled in fear. Never before had any of them been smothered in a presence that expelled such anger. From snorting his nose to snarling his lips, Logan was giving off all the warning signs needed for the kids to know that the volcano was going to metaphorically erupt.<p>

Logan was mad. He had had the entire night planned out perfectly in his mind. He was gonna eat dinner in a perfectly quiet dining room, have the living room entirely to himself so he could watch whatever telenovella that was on at the hour, then he could smoke what was left of his box of cigars with no one around but Storm to complain about it. And he knew exactly what she would've said and what to say back. He had figured out just exactly how to dance around her little scolding and warnings. But now he wouldn't get the chance to.

He had to baby-sit. Baby-sit kids that weren't even his responsibility. And their teacher, who had only been there for a few hours, had already run off to go avert a catastrophe without him. Why couldn't Storm stay with the kids while he got to go fight? Storm didn't even like fighting that much. But Logan lived off of it. Thrived off of it. Logan looked out among the kids lined in front of him and grinned.

"Well, you all were supposed to get your first DR session in order to break you in, and I'm not here to stop you. So your first Danger Room session is gonna be…surviving with me."

The kids all took a step back as three large claws sprouted between the knuckles on each of Logan's hands, now clenched in dangerous fists. "Activate session 372 on half. Set a timer for 10 minutes and start it in 7 seconds."

Before the New Mutant's eyes, the room responded to what Logan said and a virtual simulation corresponded, growing and developing into a slummy city neighborhood that was rundown and abandoned. And as the kids looked out and around them, Logan just counted down "6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1"

The kids just turned to look at him, all of them wide-eyes and obviously scared. "You were supposed to run. So I'm gonna count again. From ten this time. And you all will try to not lose. And by lose, I mean stay away from these claws."

The kids all turned and scattered, heading into the rough neighborhood separately and in a mad scramble. Logan just grinned and waited until all of them were out of sight before taking a whiff of the air. "This'll be too easy." With that, he was off after one of them. They'd all be out before the 10 minutes was up unless catastrophe struck.

Logan vaulted over a crumbled wall and scrambled onto the roof of a small building to take a good look of his surroundings. He had used this terrain a few times before with the more experienced students, but with so many environments, he had trouble remembering them all. This one, though, was his favorite one to run search and destroy in. It was near perfect for it. He was fixing to show these kids why. Spotting a tuft of blonde hair tucked behind a car near him across the street, Logan took a second to plan how he would get to the car before the kid got away. A streetlight was his solution.

Running to the edge, Wolverine jumped and grasped at the arm of the light pole, swinging off of it to fall on top of the car roof with a loud crunch. Sure enough, the blonde hiding behind it shrieked in terror and scurried away to get away. Logan smirked and hopped down before spotting a gift that had been left for him by his fleeing target. A small glowing marble. A dive later and the street was filled with a loud explosion that left Logan's ears ringing, but otherwise fine.

Gritting his teeth at being duped, Wolverine took off, aiming to make up for lost time by playing hard ball. A little roughening up would only do these kids good, right? As Logan began running down the street, attempting to catch up with Tabitha before she got too far away, Logan heard a computer voice call out indistinctly and stopped mid-stride. For some reason, the program shut down and the entire Danger Room fell back to its normal state. The kids were scattered out an about in various spots, each one confused by what was going on, because all of them knew ten minutes hadn't passed.

They began to work their way back to Logan, who was looking up to the control room hoping to see someone familiar up there. Not spotting anyone, Wolverine was about to head up there himself before Bobby ran up and asked "Hey Mister Logan, I know we're supposed to be training or whatever, but what's a Defcon 4? That doesn't sound like a training exercise."

Logan whirled around and grabbed the younger boy by the shoulders and gave him a small shake, scaring the teen near senseless as he asked "You're sure the computer said Defcon 4? If it did then this is very serious. Deadly serious."

Bobby didn't doubt Logan for a second as he nodded his head nervously. "Yeah. The computer said 'Intruders, activating Defcon 4.' Does that mean people are breaking into the mansion? Are we in trouble? Do we need to go up there and do something or…Are they here for us?"

Logan loosened his grip on the boy and turned away, facing the door and the only entrance to the room, watching it.

"No. You all are going to stay right here with me where I can keep you safe. If push comes to shove I'm going to need all of you to stay as close together as you can and work as a team to keep each other safe. There's not a chance that anyone who can make it through the mansion's defenses can be beaten by just on of you guys. But if you work together, you may just stay alive. Or, it could just be Xavier forgot to deactivate the defenses when he came home from the game." _'But I kinda doubt that.'_

The kids all bunched up behind Logan in one big cluster, muttering among themselves in hushed tones. So much for their first day at the mansion. Wolverine was really wishing he had his cigar with him now. Oh how it would help some of the tension he was feeling right then. But he didn't have his cigar and he didn't have much time to wait either. Loud crashes were heard from outside the room and as they got louder and closer, the sounds suddenly stopped. The mutants inside the Danger Room held their breath for one single moment, waiting for something to happen. And slowly, something did.

An eerie creaking sound carried through the room and the thick door guarding the entrance fell into two pieces, perfectly divided. Behind the two pieces, cloaked in the darkness of the hallway, stepped 3 mutants. Logan snarled at the recognition of two of the mutants and cursed his luck at the unknown third person being there. This was about to be very messy.

"That wasn't so hard, was it Rift? And we kept our babysitter intact the entire way. The Boss better give us a raise for this. I don't see why he didn't stick Gameboy with her. He's the newbie after all. We shouldn't have to keep up with her while recovering our missing property."

The redheaded male talking was the same one Logan had seen in the underground lab. He had the ability to split things with his hands, if he remembered right. He was just the same now as he was then. His hair was jutting out in every direction and his eyes were narrowed and dark. The girl he was talking to, Rift, was an old face too. She still wore her loud flip-flops but now she was chewing on a piece of gum. Blowing it up into a large bubble and popping it annoyingly, the little blonde girl answered obnoxiously "Well of course. This place is a dump. Their yard is a total mess. And look at those kids. They're all wearing those ugly uniforms. What losers."

Logan growled at the insults, but didn't respond to the poke. Instead, he spit out "What exactly are you scum doing here? Go home to your daddy before I have to put you kids to bed myself."

"We're here to take back what's ours. Either you can give her up to us or we can go get her. In fact, screw the first option. I feel like killing you just the sake of it. I hope that'll comfort you in the afterlife."

With that, the young man dropped to his knee and placed both palms on the floor, channeling his destructive energy that split the floor into a giant chasm, with nothing but darkness in between. Wolverine dove out of the way of the speeding fissure, but not before shouting orders to his temporary students "Move!"

The group of younger teens scattered, pairing up as an instinctive security measure. Bobby, Sam, Amara, and Tabitha made it to one side of the divide; Jamie, Marley, Katie, and Ray to the other. The three students with Katie all seemed to sway on their feet as if hit with a dose of morphine. The three collapsed a moment after, hitting the floor in a dazed state and a glazed glossy look in their eyes. Katie looked ready to dissolve into tears, well aware it was her own powers causing such a reaction.

Wolverine hardly had time to take note of his student's actions, regardless of how distraught their situation now seemed. He had a more pressing matter on his hand, or more accurately, on his tail. Fissure, after living up to his name and dividing the room and separating the students while putting Wolverine on the evasive, followed up with a quick pursuit of Wolverine, charging in with a palm thrust that narrowly avoided the man's torso. Logan had seen what those hand's had done to the floor and decidedly didn't want the same done to him. Fissure followed Wolverine's dodge again with another open handed strike, utilizing some type of open hand to hand combat training, from what Logan could tell.

And he was darn good at it too, Logan decided. The man had attacked him with a swarm of flying palms that left Wolverine on the evasive so much he didn't even think to draw his claws as a deterrent for getting so close. Once he was given the moment to after a near endless physical assault from his redheaded adversary, Wolverine did unsheathe his claws, smirking at the man before him who was getting his wind back.

"Ready for my turn?" With a snarl, Wolverine lunged, aiming to stab the man through while he was still flat-footed and recovering. Fissure's eyes glinted over in an odd sheen, or maybe it was just a flare of the lighting, but as time seemed to crawl by and Logan's claws inched closer and closer to their mark, the man could've sworn that a smile crossed Fissure's face. Somehow, the younger man had managed to put his palms in front of Wolverine's claws and was merely waiting for the man to seal his own doom.

Fissure didn't seem to know that Wolverine's claws were Adamantium and nigh indestructible. He didn't care. If there was a single thing that his life had shown in all its hardships was one universal fact. Nothing can't be split. Everything else can.

It was over in a moment. Wolverine's lunge at the man had stopped short as the man jerked himself backwards, not actually expecting the Network agent to stand there and let Logan run him through. Not that it mattered. Wolverine stood blankly, his hand's still posed to finish out the stabbing motion needed to end Fissure's life, but he couldn't do it. His claws, his indestructible metal claws that had cut through everything he'd ever contacted, his personal attachment of death and pain, and the only thing in his life that had been consistent, no matter what he did or didn't remember, were now split cleanly in half down to their base in between his knuckles.

Pain, red hot and agonizing, jumped through Logan's hand and he instinctively retracted his weapons and bit back a roar of pain. He tried to cradle his hands to his chest in pain, but found himself knocked flat on his back, courtesy of Fissure's boot. The man soon towered over Logan and dropped his knee into Logan's gut, reaching for the pinned man's throat for a simple kill. Wolverine hadn't lived as long as he had as a fighter for nothing, however and even in pain and disorientation knew to keep the hands away from him at all costs.

A small struggle arose between Fissure and Wolverine as Wolverine grasped Fissure's wrists and made sure the younger man couldn't touch him. Fissure tried to press down on Logan, but it wasn't working. Wolverine had too much experience and conveniently had a metal skeletal frame that prevented him from feeling most of the pressure Fissure was applying. A beam of chilling ice hit Fissure in the side solidly, knocking him off of Logan and leaving a patch of thick ice on his black leather padded outfit. Wolverine picked himself up at the same time Fissure did, but he wasn't forced to protect himself from sheer cold like the Network agent was.

Bobby had picked himself up from the sidelines of the canyon in the DR floor and tried to assist Logan, allowing his powers to manifest in a layer of ice covering his body. He then began projecting his powers in an ice blue beam through his hands, attempting to trap the red head in a case of ice. Much to Bobby's disappointment, it wasn't working. Fissure merely held his palms out in front of the beam and it split in perfect symmetry in front of him. Bobby ditched his efforts as it showed to be unhelpful, instead turning to help his new teammates against Rift. The girl was having a ridiculously easy time avoiding harm, as everything the New Mutants threw at her was absorbed through left hand into a black hole. It was regurgitated at the same velocity it entered, firing from her right hand as she willed. It seemed like the girl wasn't even trying to press on an attack, but wasting time or stalling. So it seemed that there was a stalemate for that fight, as well as Wolverine's and Fissure's, where neither could get the upper hand in their melee.

* * *

><p>Magneto had followed in behind the Network agents and waited for a moment while the two made a scene. He watched them from above, resting in the Danger Room's observation chamber. Gyro was laid on the room's table, growing paler and colder. The blood had stopped pouring from the wound, but that hardly satisfied Magneto. An injury like that couldn't be waved off just because the blood had stopped flowing and finally clotted. That itself was dangerous too, especially around the heart. Magneto turned from his Acolyte and examined the room beneath him, looking for his target. Caliban, his prized possession that he had collected from the sewer scum, a ragged assortment of mutants, had been worth locating and providing for the entirety of Morlocks. Caliban had located a mutant for him that could mend his broken tool. But Caliban was vague with his sensing and had only provided a gender and a name, leaving Magneto to do some small amount of guessing.<p>

It couldn't be either of the girls fighting the Network agent. They were both using destructive powers, not the healing Magneto needed. So that left the other girl who was standing over three downed students, one of which was a girl who could be who he was looking for. The conscious girl was by herself and seemed distraught, unaware of what else was going on around her. So when metal erupted from the floor around her and picked her up, it was certainly a surprise. Magneto began to lift her as well as the other unconscious girl, when he was met with a sudden resistance. Magneto looked down at the girl and saw her panicking, too scared to think straight, let alone use her powers to resist. But yet something was holding her back. What was it?

* * *

><p>Ghost was beside herself, literally and physically, on what she should do. Her assignment, helping Squad 16 recover their lost asset, was fairly straightforward. The girl they were after was an escapee with no where to go and easy to find. She often left a trail of bodies behind her wherever she went. But Ghost was at a loss because her objective was right in front of her. Subject 174852, I.D. Katie, codenamed Nurse, was being levitated by loose metals and lifted upwards to an observation chamber. Based on the information she had been briefed with, it was likely that it was Magneto in the chamber. Magneto was one of the biggest priorities that she had been briefed on for her sector, but she was no threat to the man. She was not properly equipped to deal with him in a more fatal way and her powers limited her very existence to sticking to the shadows.<p>

Ghost could act even further than she was now and risk exposing herself, or she could wait and bide her time for better opening to reclaim her missing asset. The decision weighed in her mind and the woman eventually decided to let go of Katie and let the metal take her, as well as another girl, upwards and out of sight. Ghost left the room, making sure not to interrupt the fighting in anyway, lest her powers begin to undo and all her effort remaining undetected be lost. She had to find a way to that chamber without interacting enough with the world to reveal herself. Because even ghosts could be felt when they expressed their presence enough…

* * *

><p>Magneto quirked an eyebrow as the resistance he was feeling vanished. There was something about it that stuck out in Magnus' mind that bothered him about it, as if he knew something that would explain the resistance, but couldn't remember exactly what. Regardless, he turned the new arrivals and looked over the frightened girl deposited before him. A feeling overcame him that was foreign, and even as it beset upon him, Magneto could tell it was the girls doing.<p>

Euphoria. That was closest thing he could think of to describe the feeling. And it was becoming increasingly disorienting and the man felt it would soon render him unconscious. The girl was suffocating him in pleasure, raw and unwarranted. Magneto gripped on the table with his hands as he ground a loud a wavering shout of "Stop!"

The shout worked. The girl recoiled from him as if he'd hit her and the pleasure that had been running rampant in Magneto's mind dwindled, leaving him almost wanting. _'This girl's powers are dangerous. Remarkable, but dangerous. I have no use for her, however and it seems she isn't the girl I was looking for.'_

Magneto kept his eyes on the girl, watching her movements as he instructed "Wake the girl. I need her for something. Stay calm and do as you're told and you'll be fine. Xavier would be furious with me otherwise."

Katie was wordless, still frightened and unable to think straight. She didn't know what to do asides what the man asked her. So she turned to Marley, who had been laid on the floor by the metal that had carried them up. The girl was still out of it from when Katie flooded her brain with endorphins earlier. Katie squatted down and grabbed Marley by the shoulders, shaking her roughly in an attempt to get the girl to wake up but it didn't work. She tried smacking her face a bit, not too roughly, but that didn't work either.

Katie could feel the magnetic mutant behind her getting impatient and decided on a more reliable method, if a bit unethical. She pinched Marley's nose shut and pushed up on the girl's jawbone, cutting of her air supply. A few moments later and Marley jerked to life, operating instinctively and flailing out in terror. Katie released her and Marley pushed herself away as she regained control of her breathing and took in her surrounding. She was a lot more subdues about nearly being suffocated than one would normally think a person should be, but that was just another perk of Katie's powers. No one was ever angry around her.

Marley's mind finally caught back up to speed and she turned to the girl asking "What's going on? Why is there a robot with a cape watching us? Where even are we?"

Magneto took a step forward, shattering the illusion of being a robot and stating "I need you to fix something, child. That is all you need to know. It's here on the table. Fix it, and you two will be free to join back with the others."

Marley pushed herself off the floor and looked over to the table that Magneto was pointing to. A gasp escaped her and Katie rose to see what was there. It was a boy. A boy that was covered in blood. His jacket was stained red in dried blood and there was still some leaking out from the wound in his chest.

"You want me to, um, fix that? He needs to go an emergency room and see some doctors or something. I'm not qualified to do something like this. I don't even know if I can."

"You can and you will. I was sent to you for a reason and now you are going to save this boy, save his life. You must."

Katie was almost tempted to ask the consequences, but knew better. This man had power, far beyond what she or Marley could do. That much was obvious from the way he withstood her flooding him with euphoria. So Katie nudged the girl beside her and nodded for her to do as she was told.

Marley walked over to the table and held out a trembling hand to the body, watching it rise and fall unsteadily and more blood pour out of the jacket. Marley couldn't tell where the wound was, the blood had dried and matted over the jacket, making it indiscernible where the source of life's liquid was coming from. Marley turned to look at Magneto for a moment, but all she could see was his dark red helmet, not the eyes boring into her from behind it. With a shiver, Marley turned back around and asked Katie for some help.

"I can't see where all the blood is coming from. Help me get this jacket off of him."

Katie did as asked and together they worked the still unresponsive boy out of his jacket, then his shirt as well when it became apparent that it was unhelpful too. Now the hole in his chest was visible and Marley could see what she was actually doing. Before she could muster up her powers to restore him, Marley watched as the boy's skin seemed to try and mend it back together, only to break back apart. Blood was trying to clot, but when it did, something else would rupture and blood would pour back out. Looking a little closer, Marley saw the cause. Inside the chest wound was a small white shard that looked incredibly similar to a picture she had seen before in biology class.

"Yes, he was shot with a bone. I wouldn't suppose that would stop you from healing him, now would it?"

Magneto's statement and question brought Marley back to the reality at hand that some boy was laying on a table bleeding like crazy in front of her.

"How is he not already dead? He's bleeding like crazy and must've been that way for a while?"

Marley didn't really expect and answer, but got one nonetheless.

"He's a mutant, like you two. His regenerative ability is what's kept him alive for the last half hour, but it's taking its toll on him. He won't last like this much longer. Now hurry and fix him!" The order was sharp and the tone harsh, but the massage was clear.

Marley thought about trying to use her powers while the bone shard was still inside of him, but the thought of the flesh mending back over with the bone shard in there gave her pause. She needed to get it out. But there was no way she could reach inside another person's chest just to save their life. It was disgusting. And dangerous. What if she accidentally killed him by making the wound worse?

Katie saw the hesitation in Marley's eyes and felt the impatience from Magneto rising, so she slipped and hand on top of Marley's and sent a small hint of calmness into the girl's nervous system. Marley smiled at the small form of contact, suddenly feeling a bit better. With a deep breathe, she reached out with her thin fingers and slowly pulled the bone shard out of the wound. The boy on the able jerked a bit from the wound being stirred up, and more blood began to pour out, but otherwise, things were fine.

Now that the bone was out of the way, Marley could step back and let her powers do this rest. Wiping the blood of her hands on the remains of the boy's already blood soaked shirt, Marley's hands began to glow yellow as she placed them hovering over the wound. In a flash of brilliant light that blinded the room, the wound disappeared beneath her hands. As she removed them with a look of confidence on her face, she was met with the sight of patch of gray skin, scarred and rough.

"What happened? I thought you could fix him. Why does he have a massive scar on his chest?" Magneto certainly didn't seem happy to see the scar either. The scar would mean that the body had a point of weakness. The scar painted a target on the boy's chest for any of his enemies to take a shot at.

"My powers restore things to their natural state. If an oak tree's bark cracks over time, I can't mend that, because it was how nature designed it. His body must've already been making scar tissue in order to replace what was lost. I merely removed the bone and restored the natural process already in place."

"I see… Is he safe to move again?"

Marley looked over the boy, whose chest was rising and falling at a much more even rhythm than before, before turning to the metal clad man and nodding. "He should be fine. When he wakes up he should be back to the way he was naturally."

Magneto seemed to think something over in his head before causing metal to spring to life before him, scooping up Luke off of the table and making towards the exit. He had to return to his base. If what this girl said is true, then that would mean that Mastermind's most certainly unnatural hold on him would've faded and he would be back under his own control again. That was not acceptable. Luke still had not come around to seeing thing's his was and until he did, he couldn't let such a powerful mutant slip through his hands. The power he saw in Luke was eerily similar to what he saw in himself.

"Wait! What about us? Are you just gonna leave us here? There are people here trying to kill us, after all. You could at least help us deal with them before you run off."

Magneto fixed his attention on the girl who had asked such a ridiculous request. Marley held her ground under the gaze of a man clearly her superior. If anything, she became even more emboldened, crossing her arms and looking expectantly to the metal man while Katie just shuffled nervously behind her.

'_Maybe I took away too much of her nervousness?' _Katie fretted to herself. Her powers may have just cut off Marley's instinctual survival responses when her natural fears were pushed back. The girl, unable to properly be afraid, would lose judgment and do something reckless.

Magneto didn't seem angry, though. In fact, he seemed amused. "Not everyone that you do a favor for will do the same for you. But you've interested me and I will give you my word to help you later on in time, when the situation isn't as dire as it is for me."

With that vouching, he lifted his young charge off of the table and towards the observation chamber's exit, planning to leave the mansion as quickly as possible and without alerting everyone else to his presence there. Katie watched the man leave, the boy floating behind him, before running out of the room after him.

"Wait a minute. I can help him. Just give me a moment." She latched onto Luke's arm and began releasing the brain chemicals needed to wake the boy up. After all, if Magneto had wanted them to heal the boy, surely him being awake would be a plus.

"Child, no, stop! What are you doing?" Magneto bellowed, forcing the girl to distance herself from Luke with random metals from the ceiling and floor. But the process has already been started. Invisible to them, Luke's brain began to fire off messages to jumpstart his body and restore consciousness. In seconds, his eyes fluttered open and he began to take in his surroundings from his floating metal bed.

Magneto immediately began pulling every bit of metal around into a giant coffin of metals around Luke, cutting him off from the world right as he was starting to enter it.

Magneto turned to glare at Katie, who was very confused as what was going on, when a yellow blast of energy soared by the girl's ear and hit the metal coffin. When the light disappeared, the metals had all been returned to their proper place in the building interior and Luke was left lying on his back on the floor. The boy quickly scrambled to his feet before turning to look at his rescuers.

They were new faces and he didn't know them at all. They were staring at him as if he had come back from the dead, which was weirding him out. Then, he realized he didn't have a shirt on. That would probably explain the uncomfortable stares. Ignoring the fact, he turned to the only other person in the area, the one responsible for him being where he was.

"Magneto. Did you really think that I wouldn't ever break out of Wacko's brain scrambling? That I wouldn't ever get control of myself again? And that I wouldn't try to maim you, and then bludgeon you to death with whatever limb I just tore off of you? I know we've bonded over my period of captivity, but you've pushed that envelope a little too far."

"I was attempting to prepare you, Luke. For that, you should be thankful. Now, you are more ready than ever to do what you must for the sake of mutant kind. And more so, you should realize how necessary it all was."

"Maybe so. But you've got till the count of three to get the hell out of here or me and you are gonna find out which planetary force is stronger, mine or yours."

The entire room rattled as every metal surface came to life for a brief moment. Katie and Marley were thrown to the floor as everything began to shake while Luke just hovered in the air, seemingly un-put off by the tremendous show of strength that Magneto was putting on. Marley prepared another flash of yellow energy, but before she could use it, the room stopped moving. Magneto slipped out of the hallway and fled to the mansion's exit. He had lost what he had been trying to save, and no amount of fighting would place it back in his hands. Luke had come back unto his own will and would likely never fall back to Mastermind's controlling again.

So the Master of Magnetism was left with no other choice but to retreat home to his base of operations and begin planning anew for his personal war.

At the departure of his captor, Luke turned to the two girls, who he now noticed to be suited up in X-men uniforms. That helped sink in the fact that he was finally home again. It also brought back the memories of what he had done to the actual X-men at a soccer field. So now it was time for him to get his facts straight and the two girls in front of him seemed like the perfect help.

"So, I got a few questions I need to ask you two. Answer them the best you can, please. What day is it?"

Katie looked to Marley, who just shrugged and stepped forward, replying "It's Thursday. Why? Do you not remember?"

Luke's eyebrows furrowed as he thought about the question. "Yes. No. Sorta. I remember I'm supposed to be here. That I had done some things to the others, the X-men, which I needed to apologize for. I remember everything I did since Asteroid M. You two don't know what I'm talking about, so never mind that. It's Thursday. So where are the X-men?"

Katie answered this one. "The older mutants all went to a soccer game for one of the older girls. Rebecca ditched us earlier with Mr. Logan because something was wrong at the game."

Luke nodded his head, cataloging and putting events in place. "So that means I attacked them tonight. Good. So what did Magneto ask you two to do?"

Katie answered again; as she was the only one awake at the time to justifiably answer the question. "He took me and Marley out of the Danger Room in order for one of us to heal you. That was Marley's doing, by the way. He had carried you in on metal and laid you on the table. You were bleeding all over the place so we had to remove your shirt to see the hole in your chest. She plucked the bone out and then restored your body with her powers. It caused you body to finish developing the scar tissue it was already making, and I guess it cleared your head from whatever Magneto had done to you."

Luke looked down to where the two girls were looking at on his chest. The spot was right next to his heart and even from craning his neck; Luke could still tell it was a pretty big scar. Bile rushed to the back of his through as he prodded at it with his fingers. There wasn't any soreness or discomfort like he would've expected there to be. It seemed that the eccentric girl's powers really worked wonders.

"Thank you, then. I guess you saved my life. So what are you guys doing here at the Institute? Are you two new recruits of something?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Me, her, and a bunch of other students our age just started here. We were in the middle of our first training session and these three guys broke in. Mr. Logan is fighting one of them and the other students are handling the second. I lost track of the third one when the fighting started. I can't even remember what she really looked like."

Luke soaked everything in, while his body loosened up and readied for action. He couldn't remember exactly who Mr. Logan was, but if he and other students were fighting, then he needed to help.

"Are they all still in the Danger Room?" Luke asked, already heading towards it. A loud crash was his answer, coming from the direction he was headed. Luke leaped out of the window to the observation chamber and fell to the room beneath, waving his arms and using his powers to slow his decent. Sure enough, there were two Network agents. Each was fighting against other mutants and it seemed that the fighting was in their favor, despite the numbers advantage that the Institute mutants had.

The two girls watched the boy free fall to the floor from above, leaning out of the observation chamber window. "Wow. Can you imagine doing something like that with your powers? I bet he can fly and do all sorts of other cool stuff. Man, I wish my powers were cool like that."

Marley propped up on the window and day dreamed about it, not realizing the danger she was in at that position. Katie let a small smile cross her face at the other girl's happiness. Katie wasn't much of a day dreamer herself, but the thought of flying was entertaining nonetheless as the two girls watched over to mutants below. Neither of them knew how to get down to the Danger Room from the room they were in, so it would be better to just stay put.

The third mutant girl in the room agreed. Ghost has made her way stealthily up to the observation chamber and discovered that not only had Magneto fled, but the other mutant had left to fight Fissure and Rift. That left her with only the two girls to deal with. Those odds were much more in her favor. Ghost silently walked behind the two, who were oblivious to her presence. That was her mutation. She could hide herself from others to the point where she almost didn't even exist. Only by making changes in her surroundings did her powers fade away.

Ghost spotted where her target was, as well as the other mutant girl with her. They were both leaning out of the window, watching everything going on below them. Oh, how simple this was going to be. In a short burst of speed and a simple push, Ghost sent Marley toppling out of the window to the hard floor hundreds of feet beneath. As the girl plummeted to her demise, screaming all the way, Ghost turned in her now revealed form to the terrified Katie, who was in tears next to the window sill.

"Are you ready to come back with us now? You've tried my mistress' patience with you, little girl. While you have worth in her eyes, she doesn't tolerate runaways or traitors. Bubbles didn't appreciate you messing with his emotions, either. I'm sure he'll have some choice words to tell you when I bring you back. Now move."

Katie pushed herself away from the windowsill, trembling and still looking at the window her almost friend had disappeared out of. She wasn't thinking about Ghost. She wasn't thinking about going back to what she had run away from. She was thinking about the scream that was still echoing in her ears and how little it seemed to matter to the monster that had caused it.

"How can you just stand there? You just killed a girl! A fellow mutant. She was innocent and harmless to you and you pushed her out of a window! What kind of sick person are you?"

Ghost was gone in a moment, reappearing directly in front of Katie and grabbing a fistful of hair, pulling the younger girl into her face to make sure she had her attention. "Just who are we, Katie? We're the monsters and freaks that pop out of nightmares. We're the things your mother told you weren't there when you were scared of the boogiemen under your bed. We are what make the world go round. You can't just escape us. No one can. This entire mansion is coming down eventually, with every mutant in it coming along for the ride. What's one girl in the grand scheme of the Network?"

"She matters to us. And I don't give a damn about the Network's grand schemes or dastardly plans. Butt out of our lives!"

A voice from the window caused Ghost to reel and release Katie, turning to face the speaker, only to be knocked flying by an invisible force and sent sprawling on the floor. Luke slipped back inside the window, letting go of Marley who rushed to Katie and wrapped the girl in a hug. The two girls began to cry into each others shoulders, distressed and emotionally exhausted as they were. Luke left the two to themselves while he stepped over to Ghost, watching her closely. Something wasn't right about her.

In a flash, the girl launched herself up and threw a dark pellet at Luke, catching him by surprise as it erupted in his face. The room filled with a dense and dark cloud of inky black. Luke began using his powers to flush the room out, sending the smoke out of the windows. When the room cleared, Ghost was gone. Luke slammed his fist on the table at her escape, but returned to his two fellow mutants.

"You two are both gonna be ok now, right? No one was hurt, we're all alive, and we're safe. Everything is better now."

"Thank you." Marley half-sobbed out, wrapped up as she was with Katie. "You saved me. I told you he could fly, Katie."

Luke just laughed and let the two girls calm down, resting on the table. Eventually, the two settled and wiped their eyes. They separated, flushed at the sudden attachment they had to each other. It was funny how they had connected over one of them nearly dying. Now that there was bit more normalcy in the room, Luke looked back down to the Danger Room he had only just been in. It seemed that things in there had shift tremendously in the Institute's favor. Rift and Fissure both had their limbs encased in thick ice and Fissure looked to have some nasty gashes on his arm if Luke could notice them from way up above.

"Now that all the fighting's done, why don't we go down and visit with all our friends? I've got some catching up to do and some introductions to make it seems. And I'm sure the guys down here are looking for you. So grab on and I'll take us down there."

The two girls looked at each other for a moment, faces red, before looking back at Luke. Luke's brows furrowed again as he wondered what the hold up was, before he instinctively shivered and realized he was still shirtless.

"Right. My bad. Are my old clothes still here somewhere? Or did they get ruined?"

Marley grabbed the blood-soaked shirt and jacket from off the floor and held them in her hand, flashing her yellow energy and restoring them to look new. She offered them to Luke, who accepted them graciously and quickly slipped them on. Now that he was more properly dressed, Katie and Marley moved closer and asked "So how exactly is this going to work?"

"I'm not sure. Something like this, I suppose." Luke said as he grabbed both of them by their shoulders. In seconds they began to shed weight and soon were scoped up under his arms like pets. The two girls shrieked in terror as Luke jumped out of the window and screamed the entire way down. Their fright was all for naught, as when they reached the ground, they landed softly were set back on their own two feet, feeling light headed.

"Sorry about that. I figured you two would've never agreed if I would've told you before hand. So now we're here and I need to make you to weigh your proper weight again. Hold still."

The two girls were still shaking off the free fall experience as he added their weight back, making a rough approximation for both of them. Like it really mattered anyways. After he finished and let go of both of them, they both in turn smacked him as hard as they could, getting a startled yelp from the gravity manipulating boy.

Wolverine walked up to the three and didn't give Luke the chance to turn around before unsheathing his claws and placing them along Luke's spine. "Don't move an inch, bub. You two, explain what's going on. Now."

The two girls were surprised by Logan's immediate actions and warned "No, Mister Logan, he's one of us. Or, one of you guys, actually. He helped us out and he used to live here or something like that."

Logan moved his claws and turned Luke around slowly, looking him over and giving him a good whiff.

"It's you alright. Got tired of playing damsel in distress when we lost you again? I was wondering when you would come around."

"It's not exactly fun being held captive all the time, Wolverine. You don't get first pick of anything, no one ever asks you what you want to eat, they just give you something, and I didn't go anywhere without Sabretooth following me. It sucked."

Wolverine just grunted before asking "So Sabretooth made it out with Magneto? I didn't figure he would get left behind. What about Mystique? Did he take her with you two?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. He kept her around so she could explain her side of the story or whatever. She was a double agent or something for him and she had gotten in too deep for his liking. So they had a little spat and now their back to distrusting one another. It's a messy story. But on the bright side, I got to meet Magneto's other henchmen. Some German guy and a telepath. The telepath kept me under Magneto's whip and chain so I don't remember much of anything aside's Magneto lecturing me on mutant supremacy or whenever I was doing something for him."

Logan just nodded. "The team's out right now and should be headed back. They had a disaster at the Soccer game or something. We just rounded up the Network goons here for Xavier to deal with later. He'll look into your amnesia too, I suppose. I was stuck here playing with the new recruits when they attacked. How'd you get here?"

"Magneto brought me here, I suppose. I was at the soccer game under his control and I got shot or something. He brought me here to this girl" Luke recounted, pointing to Marley, "and told her to heal me. She did, but at the same time snapped me out of the mind control mess they had me under. So Magneto bolted when I woke up and I was going to help you guys down here. But some sneaky Network agent up in the observation room pushed Marley out a window and was about to kidnap Katie when I came to the rescue. The Network agent ran off after throwing a smoke bomb at me. So all that was left was for me to bring these two back down here."

After the story was retold, Wolverine grouped all of the students back up and told them that everything was alright. They were going to go back upstairs and seal off the Danger Room so the two goons that were frozen couldn't escape, even if they managed to break the ice. The younger students filed off towards the elevator while Luke and Logan looked over the two mutants on ice.

"You two attacked us in the lab upstate, right? Weren't there more of you guys last time? The one I saw wasn't with you the first time, but she couldn't make up for the other three. So where's the other half of your squad?"

"They'll be barging in here any minute now to free us and to get the girl back. You can't hold us here. You can't stop them from getting us out of here and taking what's ours back from Xavier."

Logan snorted before replying "You two ain't' going no where. We've got a house full of mutants between you two and them. There's not a snowball's chance in hell you guys are leaving till we're through with you."

"We'll see." With that cryptic reply, Fissure fell silent and stared at the floor. It didn't seem that they would get anything else out of him and the look Rift was giving them told them the same was true for her.

Logan and Luke left the two alone, locking up the Danger Room to full defense mode to be safe. Wolverine then led his old student to the elevator, making small talk.

"So what exactly do you even remember? You recognized me, you know Xavier, you know you have a team, and you remember the attack in the labs. That seems like a pretty good memory to me."

Luke just looked over to the man and replied fuzzily "I remember you, but I don't know you anymore, I don't think. Did we get along? Did we tell each other knock knock jokes or watch action movies till 3 in the morning? Did we go hiking together? Were we even friends at all? I know that you're Wolverine and I remember what you do, but I can't remember any interaction between us as people. Same with everyone else. I can't remember if I spent any time with you guys outside of the Danger Room or on missions. Those are the only times I remember."

The elevator doors opened wide for the two to get in, before lifting them up the ground floor. Wolverine stared at the ceiling, wondering if Charles would be up there waiting on him to help sort this mess out.

"We got along just fine, kid. Charles will fix you up, just you wait." Internally, Logan was wondering if Charles could do just that. After all, Logan had been with Xavier for years now and still couldn't remember all of his past.

Luke nodded. "Until he does, all I know to call you is Wolverine. The girls earlier called you Mr. Logan. Is that your name?"

"Yeah. Speaking of girls, which one were those goons after? They never told us specifically. But they acted like she belonged to them. I need to see if any of these new kids have any history in the Network. It's bad enough dealing with all the trouble housing one ex-agent. The last thing we need is two."

The elevator made it to the top and the two found the new students all clustered around in the lobby. The X-men had made it back, all still intact if a little banged up. Wolverine slipped through the crowd of students and found Storm and Rebecca trying to settle the kids down so they could get organized.

"Listen up! Xavier needs to rest right now and we'll be moving him to the med bay. I want all of you to report down there so Rebecca and I can check you over and make sure you're ok. Marley, if you'd like to assist us in restoring whatever injuries we do find, that would be greatly appreciated. Now go."

The students all began filling down the hall, Scott leading the way while pushing the Professor in his chair. Jean knew enough to properly put Xavier on an IV so he wouldn't dehydrate or starve while in the Astral Plane. Wolverine stopped the two staff members from following after the crowd of students and turned them around to see Luke, standing there rubbing the back of his head.

Storm just looked around to check with Logan, who merely nodded, before walking over to Luke and looking him up and down, asking "How are you, child? I see you are no longer under someone else's influence, but what about the shot? We all you start to fall out of the sky and feared the worst. I'm glad to see you alive and on your feet, but is it really wise? Surely you should be in the med bay with Xavier."

Luke just smiled at the woman, who was doting on him just a little. It was a nice feeling for Luke to see someone care for him, even if he couldn't remember why she would. He pounded his chest with his fist over the spot where he had been shot.

"I'm fine. Marley, or whatever that girl's name was, the one with the funny hair, she fixed me right as rain. I feel fine."

Ororo looked him over one last time to be sure, before grabbing the boy and giving him a soft hug. When Luke pulled back after a moment, he said "I remember what I did at the soccer field. I'm sorry for that. I can't remember much about you, asides your powers and us on missions, but I appreciate you caring for me after I had hurt you."

"Your memory is gone?"

"It's just spotty right now, is all. I can't remember much about anyone on a personal level. All I know about you right now is that you control the weather and we call you Storm."

Ororo's lips pursed into a frown. "Child, you may need to be in the med bay after all. Your skin looks so unhealthy and your memory has been tampered with. That seems like a very good reason to have you right next to Charles when he wakes up."

"What's wrong with Xavier? And was my skin not always like this? I thought it was."

Luke lifted up his arms and looked them over. They seemed normal to him, if a bit grey. It didn't seem too far out of the ordinary compared to the other students either.

Storm shook her head. "You didn't always look grey. I suspect its part of whatever Magneto did to you on the asteroid, but it's not abnormal. It just doesn't look healthy. Xavier, on the other hand, is combating a telepath in the Astral Plane. His body isn't being attended to at the moment, which is why we're caring for it in his place. I'm not sure how long he will be gone."

Luke nodded. It would've been crazy to expect anything around the house to be normal for once. All he remembered was misadventure and disaster around here in between all the training.

"So until Professor X wakes up, can I just go to my room? I don't want to waste space in the med bay if they can't do anything for me right now. And all that's on my agenda is seeing Xavier, so I can just wait it out up there, right?"

Storm agreed and let him scurry off to his room for rest while she went to the med bay to assist in checking up all the students. Her two co-workers, on the other hand, were still in the lobby talking.

"Who was that kid Storm was talking to? He looks kinda familiar but I haven't seen him at the mansion before. And he just ran off upstairs. Why didn't he report to the med bay?"

Logan looked off from where Luke vanished off to and returned his eyes on Rebecca. "That's Gyro. You haven't met him here yet, but you should remember him from your teacher job in Virginia. You were the one that sent that runt to us, after all."

It clicked for the woman who suddenly realized who the boy was. "That was Luke? But his skin…And he was at the game! He was with Magneto but he got hit by a bone bullet and started to fall out of the sky. I thought he died. All of the visions I saw of his powers faded out of my mind."

"He's fine now. I don't know the whole story yet and neither does the kid, but the bottom line is that he's back with us now and he's better than ever. So for now, let's just go sort through the kids while I think of ways you can pay me back for babysitting."

"Logan!"

* * *

><p>AN: Well, I got through this chapter after all. So did you, I suppose. I hope you liked it and understand most of what's going on. Magneto, in the short time he had with Luke, got Mastermind to pull all of the memories that were irrelevant to Magneto's cause, and throw them away. So now Luke is left with an odd skin tone, another scar, and an altered memory. He'll get his memory fixed up before to long. I can't have too many cliché's running in the story at once. I feel so awful for doing so many already.<p>

Chapter Title goes to a Wiz Khalifa song. I feel it was kinda appropriate, as Luke has returned and originally, I had planned for Xavier's trip to end as well. But then things started to stretch out a little long, so I ended it. I'll try to have the next chapter out before Christmas and I'm sorry for running a little late with this one. Review for me and tell me if you liked it! BigWillis, out!


	21. Home

AN:Welcome to the latest chapter of Gravity's Burden! Now we can pick up where the story left off, which was a bad spot if I say so myself. Disclaimer: I don't own any of Marvel's property and I don't think they'll be signing anything over to me any time soon. Bummer. Also, credit to the chapter title goes to Daughtry. You guys have probably heard of this, unlike my other song titles.

Chapter 21

Home

"Was it really best to leave him to himself? He just got a hold of himself if we believe everything that we've been told so far. He needs someone with him to watch over him while we sort everything out."

Logan questioned what had been relayed to him from Storm about Luke. They were in a secluded corner of the med bay in order to keep students from overhearing their conversation. There was no need to make all of the older kids riled up over the news. They would demand to see Luke, which would stir up the younger students and none of them would get checked over.

"If you had just been released from being controlled by someone else and you were having memory problems, the last thing you would want is to be surrounded by the people you were supposed to remember. Cut him some slack. He looked exhausted anyways. We'll let him sleep through tonight, then tomorrow we'll start straightening everything out. Let's just handle the kids for tonight and watch over Xavier and our other _guests_."

Ororo looked into Logan's eyes for a brief moment before conceding. The man had his own troubles with memory and the woman wasn't going to push on such a touchy subject with Logan of all people. And she had a point. They had enough on their plate as it was.

Rebecca had been overseeing the check-ups on the younger ones while the older students waited behind them, loitering around Xavier's bed until they could be tended to. It was a pretty simple process to the check ups and it was going faster than Storm would've originally dared to hope. Any student with an obvious injury or cut would heal back as it would naturally over time to its natural state by Marley, who was more than happy to help out.

The younger kids were all ok, staying safe in their fight with Rift due to them looking out for each other and the large numbers advantage they had on her. Sam was the only one notably hurt with a possible concussion from running wild with his powers. Smashing into things at breakneck speeds headfirst while spinning like a top could do that to you, Storm figured.

The older students were a little bit more battle worn. Marley used her powers on every one of them, regardless of the complaints she got for wasting time on needless effort. Rebecca just sternly ordered the kids to turn in for the night after they had been treated. Katie waited on Marley afterwards, but when all the older students had been checked over, the two left for their rooms with Rebecca not too far behind to double check the student's curfew. It heartened Storm to see the two had already become friends, but from what she had been told by Logan, she regretted it had been over such dire circumstances. The school would certainly suffer repercussions for letting such danger befall their students.

It wasn't fair. Young mutants are a danger to themselves as they are to everyone else. So Xavier had a school just for helping young mutants learn to take control of themselves and ward of the public's coming revelation of mutants. But now a secret organization of criminal mutants have set their sights on the school and put everyone in the mansion at risk. To kill an innocent girl just to get at what they wanted… the Network was a brutal group of people indeed. There had to be something that could be done about them. The Professor would have a way to tend to them, Ororo was sure. He always managed to make things work out.

The man had been in bed and was responding well to the IV fluids he was on. He looked as if he was merely sleeping instead of being near comatose. It was calming, but also gave cause to worry. He looked peaceful enough to stay that way forever. Storm had no doubt that Xavier could win his battle in the Astral Plane, but him leaving that realm was different. She would just have to be patient and have faith. A hand slipped onto her shoulder in comfort as Logan silently offered his support.

"You were never checked over by Marley, were you Logan? How'd you fare with the mutant who could split metal? I know you have a healing factor but that doesn't mean you can't be hurt."

The burly man snorted at the last statement, flexing his hands and slipping his claws out of their slits. He examined the blades himself before letting Strom rake them over with her eyes. "He split my claws right up the middle. He didn't even try. For the first time that I can ever remember my bones were broken. My healing factor fixed them up in a minute or so, but still. I'm supposed to be indestructible with there damn metal bones. Yet there's someone out there that can still cut through it all. And if he couldn't do me in, Magneto always could. I don't feel tough enough to take care of the kids anymore."

"Logan, you're one of the strongest people I know. You are the bravest and most stubborn men I've ever met and no one can take care of our students like you do. And it's not all about protecting them from people who want to harm them. You're a role model for a lot of these kids. And you've trained them to take care of themselves."

The two let words die between them as they watched over the man that had pulled them to where they were now. Silence watched over the man with them, until Wolverine made for the door.

"I'm going to keep an eye on our guests in the Danger Room. I don't trust leaving only the security system to watch over them."

Just then, the med bay door opened and a man familiar to Logan in many ways stepped in, Rebecca behind him. "I believe I have a solution for your unwanted guests. I'll take them off your hands."

"Furry." Logan growled out, before looking around the old solider to Rebecca, who was lost as to what to do. "Why did you let him in the house? He probably has an army parked in our back yard by this point. Get out of here and stay out of the mansion's business, Furry. The last thing we need is the government sticking their nose in our school."

The grey-headed veteran brushed off Logan's lack of hospitality and stepped further into the med bay, looking over Xavier as Storm moved in between the two to guard the unconscious telepath. Furry seemed undeterred by this and merely turned back to Logan.

"She did the right thing letting me in. I'm here to take the Network agents you have tucked away in your game room downstairs into custody. I need you to let me in there in order to avoid having to blow my way past your security. So if you'd be so kind as to take me there, no need for a full tour of the house. We're in a hurry."

Wolverine snarled again and crossed his arms. "You're not going anywhere else in this house. I'll bring those two up and you will be waiting at the front gate for them with your entire encampment ready to leave the moment you have them. If Shield wants these clowns then you can have them, but you are NOT coming inside this school. I won't have you taking our students for your reserve back up emergency contingency plan."

A look crossed over Furry's face before passing. He then agreed "That sounds like what I'd expect from Xavier, not you Logan. I was expecting you to tell me that I couldn't have them."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out what looked to be an old fashioned pocket watch on chain and opened it up, checking the time before closing it shut and lifting it to his mouth while pressing its dial on the side.

"All teams, abort extraction efforts and return to Hill for posting. Double over on exterior guarding and prepare for departure."

Furry then made for the door, looking to Rebecca and asking "Will you see me back out, ma'am?" The young teacher sputtered for a moment before blurting "What do you want with those cutthroats? Why are you taking them in and what are you doing with them?"

"I'll let Logan introduce me later. I'm sure he'd love to. But for now, just know that you're better off never knowing who, what, when, where, or why when it comes to us." With that, the man turned and left from the room. A quick nod from Storm urged Prophetess to leave right behind him, guiding him out into the hallway and foyer.

Storm then looked over to Wolverine with an expression that clearly asked for an explanation.

"Nick Furry. He's a big time commander of Shield. I used to work for him at some point. It's a lot of secret government hush-hush crap. They are supposed to be the guys who keep the peace outside of national politics and rules. So they use less than conventional tactics to get things done by any means necessary. If Furry is here for those agents, then Shield must be really trying to crack down on the Network. It's best to keep ourselves out of it, Ororo."

"Alright, Logan. I will trust you with dealing with this. I only hope the Professor agrees when he wakes up that this was the best thing to do."

Wolverine slipped out of the med bay, leaving Storm to watch over the single most important man in her life.

* * *

><p>"Both of you, shut up and don't move. I can't let my cover be blown yet. This all would have worked out if you two weren't busy getting your asses handed to you by softies and could've helped me with our objective. I had her! And then some stupid boy butted his head in. Now she's gone and we've run out of time. Magneto has fled and Xavier and his team have made it back to the mansion. We can assume that the other half of your squad are failures just as you two are."<p>

Fissure and Rift both looked at each other and wanted to roll their eyes or cuss the mutant woman that was freeing them. But they were in her debt at the moment and indeed they had failed their objective. She had too, but they weren't going to point that out. They were just going to silently plot revenge on the annoying woman.

Ghost was attempting to free the two the best way she knew how while still being subtle. And that was to melt the ice. So at the moment she was holding onto a large chunk of ice that was pinning Fissure's wrist to the floor. It was solid ice and would take a minute to melt, but once it did, Fissure could finish freeing himself and then Rift.

The door to the large room opened, nearly making Ghost jump in surprise, and three mutants came into the room. Ghost cursed her luck as the three made their way to the two still ice bound mutants. Ghost slipped off of bit, still in ear shot range, where she stood perfectly still and waited.

The three stood in front of the two and the oldest stepped forward, crouching down between the two agents. "We're hauling you two outta here. Someone's come knocking on our door to collect you two scum and I'm giving them to you. So I'm going to cut you off the floor. Either of you two try anything at all, and I can guarantee that you will either end up in the Ice Age, vaporized by Cyclops over there, or you will meet my buddies here" Wolverine extended his claws, aiming them at the two, "on a more personal level."

Ghost cursed her luck yet again. Getting out of here was much harder now. She couldn't free the two with three mutants around. And even if she could, the ensuing fight would bring the entire mansion down on them, as well as whoever was attempting to capture them outside the mansion. Ghost would have to follow her two squad mates wherever they went until a better time to free them presented itself. It also wouldn't hurt to see who exactly it was that was trying to capture Network agents.

The fact that they even knew Network agents were here was odd enough. If they had found these two, then chances were high that they had already found and captured the other half of the squad at the soccer field.

Ghost was in for a long night.

* * *

><p>Nick leaned back in his seat inside his transportation, staring at the monitor that was connected to one of many satellites in Shield's pocket. This one in particular had been in orbit for quite a long time, and while the political world was announcing its deactivation and eventual removal from obit, Nick knew it would just be getting an upgrade in software from his people. As it was now, it was still tremendously useful.<p>

He was getting images of the heat signatures moving about in the mansion he was parked outside of. This was impressive, but the heat signatures were coming from individuals 60 feet below ground level covered by several layers of building. They were all varied, but thanks to the information he had pulled, he had figured out why.

Bobby Francis Drake. Mutant boy of only 15 and gifted with cryokinesis. He had had someone brief him on what all that meant. The boy could generate ice from his body, without any seemingly harmful effect on himself. He never suffered from having his body temperature drop or dehydration from expelling water in a cooler form. It was bizarre. And yet there he was, riding in an elevator with a near non-existent heat signature.

Logan, as Fury had already figured, had a slightly lesser body temperature due to his Adamantium skeleton. The two prisoners had been assumed to be bound by thick ice. This would not only explain Drake's presence in the situation, as well as Wolverine not having his claws out as he marched the Network agents through his home. The last signature had been identified as well.

Scott Summers. A senior at the local high school with an outstanding record there. He also the mutant of choice to lead Xavier's team of misfits. Upon learning this, Fury pulled out any footage they had on him in action, and the man had to admit that give a few years of training and the boy would make an excellent solider. His file also read that he was extremely loyal to Xavier. Fury could respect that, in a way.

The signatures made their way through the house in a path that Nick had already mapped out from blueprints he had pulled on the house. They were right on schedule with no interferences from the rest of the house's residents. Good. They approached the door to the home, with Logan stopping the group and opening the door and taking a whiff of the air. Nick saw this from a side monitor showing him a sniper's view through his scope. Logan must've sensed that the yard was clear, as he led the two agents out by himself, leaving his students inside the house.

'_Logan must think I'm out to gun them all down. Leaving them inside was smart. I won't have any visuals to put in the books on Drake, or newer ones for Scott. I guess Logan did remember some things from his time with us…'_

A squad of his men were waiting at the gates, which opened inward for Logan, who then all but shoved the Network agents into the squad's hands. The standard procedure wasn't suitable to deal with mutants, especially mutants with abilities like these two. but a solution was found quickly and simply. The team bound both mutant's hands to each other, palms touching. The files for both mutants had been pulled long ago and poured over, on the off chance that they were ever captured. This is what the division had decided on when it came to dealing with these two, as well as several others that had similar power outlets.

The binding was a knock-off of the revolutionary cement formula created in California to advance deep sea research, particularly in the Mariana Trench. This version used by Shield couldn't compare to the original in withstanding pressure, it made up for it in practicality. It was carried in a small vial, then applied to the hands. Once it began to oxygenize, the liquid would harden into stone. If Shield ever apprehended a mutant that cold break out of that, then Furry doubted they would have much chance of holding the mutant in the first place. At least not without resorting to much more desperate means…

Once the criminals were loaded into their selected carrier, the convoy pulled out, making tracks to the true pick-up point. From there, the two would be brought to Shield's newest facility being built and developed specifically for mutants and other superhuman criminals that Shield was detaining. Nick grimaced to himself, looking over the files again for the umpteenth time. Something wasn't fitting right.

They had managed the impossible and captured an entire team of Network agents in the field. This was the biggest breakthrough Shield had ever gotten in breaking into the mutant criminal ring. It was something his advisors would only dream of, and it had happened without any losses of personnel on his part and without any real need for a cover-up.

The public had been wiped by Xavier and no one would be the wiser that a soccer field was a small war zone for super-powered kids instead of victim to bad pyrotechnics. That was a lot easier to sleep on than what had happened in Salem three weeks ago. There was hardly any rain pouring down on the town to blame the massive amount of flooding on, but that was what the news reported. How typical.

Furry tapped a few buttons to make his monitor switch to the camera feed from Carrier 3, the one tasked with holding their catch of the day. The view showed what the man expected. The squad of six were sitting in their seats, each individual uniquely restrained and strapped in thoroughly while forced to look ahead. There wasn't an audio feed on the camera, but Nick could see them conversing. They were angry with each other, going by the facial features. Nick let his eye drift to the supposed leader of the team, the one that wasn't registering any kind of brain activity when Shield found them.

The man had been observed to have a body consisting of nearly 90% percent water instead of the norm of 70 something. He was able to expel this water at the sacrifice of his own mass, but was able to call it back through mental abilities yet to be explained. It was unlikely that the man could add on to his own mass through other water sources, but it was a possibility the research team had warned him of. Asides that, there was a warning of telepathic abilities that hadn't been registered on scale. Suspicion was that it was weaker than a true telepath. Nick hated suspicion.

* * *

><p>Breakfast at the mansion was exciting. The tables were filled with chatter, stories being exchanged from the night before and rumors being started and spread to boot. A few key people were missing from the socializing, which was noted by the more observant students. Ororo and Rebecca were watching over the kids, discussing a few things to themselves. Mostly small talk, which was interrupted by a Katherine Pride, dragging a pair of girls behind her.<p>

"What's the occasion this morning, girls?" Rebecca asked, sipping at her coffee and wondering why two of her students were being dragged around by an older student. It made for an odd sight and the tow girls in mention didn't look exactly happy to be there.

"Where is he? I know you guys are hiding him around here somewhere, probably to let him rest or whatever, but I want to see him! Give him a piece of my mind while I'm at it! Like, who goes and gets kidnapped, brainwashed, shot, then shows back up home after making everyone hwo cares about him think he's dead?"

Rebecca only caught half of what Kitty was talking about, but Storm caught on and placed her hands firmly on her hips when she answered Kitty's demand.

"Kitty, the Professor is tending to Luke right now. Some things have happened and right now Xavier needs time to sort things out. That means he needs some peace and quiet while he tries to help Luke sort through the remnants of Magneto's influence. You will see him, soon even, but You ARE NOT, under any means necessary, to disturb him while he's with the Professor. It's been a long night and we're lucky that things went our way like they did. Just enjoy breakfast and give us some time."

The girl pouted, visibly dejected at being put off. The two girls she had dragged with her as proof of Luke's presence, Katie and Marley, had long since slunk back off to the table again, returning to the huddle of younger kids. The boys were mostly retelling the fight from last night, exaggerating it and blowing it out of proportion. Bobby looked as if he wanted to add on to something every time someone talked about the Network agents.

Ororo suspected that it had something to do with the two being removed from the mansion grounds last night. Logan likely told Bobby to be silent on what actually happened, until the story was sorted out with Xavier on just what to tell the kids. It wasn't like they would lie to them, but Xavier was very sensitive on the students realizing the full magnitude of what those two being in the mansion meant.

The storm bringer watched as word spread about Luke as Kitty returned to her spot among the older students. Their expressions were mostly shocked, but they put the pieces together on their own. They were relived, for once. There wasn't time to mourn for him last night, the way things had collapsed into battles against dangerous mutants. The shock of him dying hadn't even settled in, and now it was gone, thankfully.

Normalcy. That was all these ids were wanting. Even for around here, so much had become unbalanced. It was all Storm could think about at the moment, it was as if a sixth sense had awoken in her letting her know just how off things were. But she had faith that it would get better. She had to have faith.

* * *

><p>Exhausted was a fitting word for Charles Xavier. His mind had been in combat on another level beyond most people on top of already being strained from wiping memories and replacing them with the false impression of a terrible accident instead. That, added on to the lack of sleep he'd acquired over the past few days, was wearing down on him heavily.<p>

But the man toughed it through. There were matters to be tended to and he would push aside his weariness to tend to them. First and foremost would be the two, no three, intruders that had invaded his home last night. They had been routed and captured, or had fled the premises. It was highly troublesome that only the two agents had been handed over to Shield instead of all three. Logan claimed the girl was completely out of mind when Furry had arrived at his home last night to collect the two criminals.

Odd that he could forget such an important detail, Xavier suspected it had something to do with the woman's powers. To conceal oneself so fully that she would never appear to others unless she acted was a frightening power indeed. And would make for an incredibly lonely existence if she couldn't control it. Xavier had probed around with his own mind to see if the girl was still around the grounds, but he felt no traces of her, as he suspected. Wolverine had attempted to contact Shield on Xavier's behalf to warn them of the mutant, but they hadn't received an answer, which didn't bode well with Charles at all.

There was little that they could do at the moment about it. Shield had taken the agents to an unknown location and couldn't be warned of the threat the women held. Cerebro had not picked up any traces of her current location, but what it had sensed from last night was recorded and put on file, along with newer files on the other agents that had been in Cerebro's radius.

Luke's file was updated last night as well, but Xavier wasn't willing to share it with his study room's occupants just yet. Luke most likely already knew most of the information recorded and didn't want to know the rest. Some of the new developments Cerebro reported were well apparent, such as the tinge Luke's skin tone had taken. It was decidedly an unhealthy one, but not one that needed to be disguised with a similar model watch as Kurt's or Amanda's. The boy himself looked fine otherwise. Xavier hadn't yet asked about the wound he'd received in the fight at the soccer field or about his time with Magneto. As a matter of fact, Xavier hadn't even spoken to Luke yet. He had been sitting quietly in a chair while he and Logan discussed the hornet's nest that had been kick in the Network.

"Logan, I believe you made the right choice last night considering what was available to you. I'd have preferred to wipe all of the agents' minds about their contact with us, but there's no use worrying about that now. All but one are with Shield and if you believe that is enough to secure them, then I'll trust you on the matter. You've had more experience working with them than I have."

"And none of it had been pleasant, Charles. Furry is the kind of guy that gets things done, no matter the cost. If you ever have to deal with him, remember that much about him. But what are we going to do now?"

"Settle the kids down. Get them back into schedule and I want you to push the older group from here on. While I'm incredibly proud of their actions last night, I fear that things will be more difficult down the road before they get better. We must be ready. As for the younger kids, Rebecca and I will have to speed them into training at a much quicker pace than I had originally planned. Thank you for all you help, Logan. You proved yourself invaluable last night. Please, go find yourself some breakfast before the children eat it all. And let them know I'm doing fine. I'm sure they're needlessly worried over my sake."

Wolverine nodded wordlessly, exiting the room while mumbling something about sausages. Luke felt a small smile tug on his lips, as if there was something faintly in his mind telling him to laugh. He held back, though. Xavier's eyes had settled on him and there was such an odd expectancy that Luke had for the man he felt it would be wrong to laugh.

"How are you, Luke? Be honest with me." The man had folded his hands up and laid them on his desk, watching his student intently, as if reading him for some hidden secret.

"I feel like I just woke up, Professor. I like the feeling." Luke said. "I don't know what things were like before, but being back now just feels…right. I want to be here. And that's all I need to know."

Xavier's heart warmed at that, his face showing as much. He then began to ease into a string of questions, slowly, so as to not overwhelm the boy and to let him think.

"Your memory has become spotty, has it not? You aren't remembering things as they were supposed to be. You remember the X-men, the training, the fighting. But you don't remember us. Not Scott, Kitty, Kurt, or Jean. You can't recall just exactly how well Evan liked your practical joke on Logan. You're not sure why you and Rouge have a distance between the two of you. But you do know that these people are the ones you want around you. That this is the right place for you."

"Yeah. Magnus showed me a lot of things and I felt a lot of things in me change, but I still knew this was where I wanted to be. This was the place I'd fight to come home to or to keep safe. Nothing else came to mind as important when he started messing with my head."

"'He'?" Xavier fished. Magneto hadn't likely tampered with Luke's mind himself, but had gotten a telepath with shared views to assist him in 'recruiting' Luke into his flock. Now it was time to see what all Magneto had done to cloud out Luke's memories of his time with the Acolytes.

"Some guy. I never really learned his name. He got yelled at a lot by Magneto. Apparently he did a bad job in nudging the other weaker mutant into line. He mostly there for crowd control, not for doing stuff like you could."

"Magneto has a lot of mutant with him, I take it? What is he doing with them?" Xavier asked, prepared to take in the bad news. Better to know now than be blindsides later.

"Magneto is taking in every mutant he can that's not already with some group. He's giving them a place to stay, food and water, stuff like that. It's kinda like a big halfway-house for mutant who don't fit in with society anymore. Especially mutants who can't hide their mutations so well. He's taking care of them, all the while saying that one day they won't need to hide from humans in fear."

That certainly wasn't as sinister as Xavier was expecting Magneto to be up to. Thank goodness. While it was troubling that he was leading mutants down a certain train of thoughts against mutants, Charles would let it slide so long as mutants were safe along with their secret.

"What did you do while he had you? Can you remember that much?" Xavier asked, going after another important question that needed answering.

Luke nodded his head, recalling "We talked a lot. He told me about his life and about what humans had done to him. He told me of his fear for mutant kind's future. He asked me what I thought about it all and he never wanted me to stop talking about it when I started. All the while, he'd show me how to use my powers fully. He taught me how to fly right away and oftentimes we'd go flying over cities or whatever was around us. I didn't recognize any of the places we went by. He treated me like I was his son more than I was his prisoner."

"Did you enjoy your time with him?" This was important to Xavier on many levels. If Magneto hadn't been set on preparing for war with humans, Xavier would've loved to have him here as an instructor. He needed to know if it was still inside his friend to be good without reason.

"Yeah. I can't say I would've been there if I had a choice in the matter, but I learned a lot from him about my powers, myself, and the world. He's not that bad a guy when you get past the fact he wants to risk mutant kind in order destroy human kind."

The confirmation brought hope back into Xavier about his friend, but he put it aside. Luke was right. Magneto _did _still want war.

"It is good to hear you were treated well with him. It gives me hope that Magnus may one day change his ways. But for the moment, we will have to treat him for what he is. A man on the brink of plunging the world into war. I'm interested in seeing what he taught you, though that will be saved for a later time. How well are you recovering physically from the near fatal injury you took? It looked most certainly fatal last night. How did you survive?"

"I'm doing good. I'm not sore or in pain. Marley plucked the bone out of me and then made my body finish healing over the hole. At the same time, whatever she did must've cleared out whatever Magneto's telepath did to me."

"Logan told me most of what happened last night. Magneto must've been worried about losing you for him to here for assistance. You are important to him, Luke. Your powers must appeal to him because of how similar they are to his. And that is an incredible amount of power to be burdened with. You can see what his did to him. I don't think the world could withstand two mutants of that caliber…warped as he is." Charles warned. He wasn't sure what amount of damage Magneto may have made on Luke's faith in humanity, but he hoped that the corrosion could be restored in time.

"I understand, Professor. I think even he understands that, to some level. He didn't try and convince me all humans were evil or something like that. He just told me what had to be done in order to ensure the safety of mutants. It's a pretty tall order for him to try and fill on his own."

"It's a burden he chose for himself." Xavier stated sternly. There wasn't any pity to be had for the man who had chosen himself to be Mutant kind's apparently much needed messiah. It was his choice.

"I don't feel bad for him, Professor. But if he wasn't there to take care of mutants, even if he's putting them over everyone's safety, then a lot of mutants would be in trouble. I don't know if I would do it just like he does, but I think I'd have to do something after seeing all the tragedies out there. But I'd do things more like what you do."

Xavier was glad for that. His student, now 'enlightened' by Magneto, still thought that Xavier was doing things right. It was reassurance to the telepath. After so much had happened, especially so recently, it helped to know that others agreed his way was the proper way to go about helping mutant kind.

"What do you want to do now, Luke? You're back here with the X-men. You're home. What is it you want to do now?"

The question was out of the blue. Luke looked up into Xavier's eyes for a moment, which immediately started to examine his before they shifted away. He scrunched up his face in thought for a moment, before answering " I just want to stay here until I figure out what's next. I want to do something important with myself. I mean, I can do more than normal people can. So why not do something more than normal? So I want to be here making a difference until I get the feeling I can make a better one somewhere else, if there is ever a time I feel like that."

Xavier chuckled at the answer for a moment before replying "I think I can live with that. You sound different from before, Luke. Changed. I'm glad. Magneto evolved your responsibility along with you powers, it seems."

Luke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly for a moment, before replying "Thanks Professor. I'm gonna leave and let you rest up a bit more. You look pretty tired. Do you want me to come back later to talk? I could probably bring you some food while I was at it." Luke offered, sliding out of his seat and standing upright and stretching.

"Thank you, but I'll have to decline. I'll retrieve you later when I've recovered enough to properly examine your memory problem. You've told me all I needed to hear for the moment, Luke. I'm glad you've returned to us."

Luke smiled and nodded his head to the man, before turning and leaving, closing the door behind him. As soon as it clicked back into place, Xavier could hear an uproar of voices shouting in the hallway. A quick check with his mind showed that his older students had ambushed him outside of his office. How nice.

Luke himself wasn't sure what to expect when he turned around and saw his teammates right there waiting on him. There was that split second of silence, followed by the click of the door, before everyone started talking at once. Luke could only hear some bits of what everyone was saying, but judging from the amount of hands patting him on the shoulder or back, halfway hugging him or punching him on the shoulder, the gravity manipulator could only make one of two assumptions. They were either mobbing him in an attempt to throw him out, or they were welcoming him back.

It turned out that it was the later when they herded him to the rec room and pretty much pushed him down into a chair as they all piled up in their own seats. The chatter finally broke through and Scott's voice was the only one talking when he asked "So how are you? We heard from Marley and Katie what happened last night. You've made a full recovery or something like that. What all did Magneto do to you?"

Luke noticed the concern in Scott's voice and smiled a little before answering loosely "I'm fine. Old Buckethead jut kept me around and tried to make me stronger after he woke up my X-gene or something like that. He told me it had been recessive beforehand. Kinda like Xavier's brother before he became the Juggernaut."

The group of teens all nodded before Evan piped up and said "So you're even more kickass than before, right?"

"Evan!" Jean warned, her tone not so much scolding as it was a signal for Evan to lower his voice, less he be heard by one of the instructors.

Luke shrugged his shoulders, shooting back "Kinda depends on how much I was before. I think it's an upgrade for sure. Before, I could hardly move half of what I can now. And I'm not in as much pain anymore, so that's a plus. I think it was worth the trouble of being kidnapped, to be honest."

Everyone half-heartedly laughed at that, but Luke did mean it. He felt more in control of his gift now than ever before. It was a good feeling. He then decided it was his turn to ask the questions, so he did.

"What've you guys been up to while I've been occupied? And what were you guys thinking, fighting in the middle of a crowded soccer field last night? Was Lance and them deliberately trying to blow everyone's little secret?"

Kitty answered this, unsurprisingly given how it involved Lance. "Lance was wanting everyone to treat the Brotherhood goons better by making them afraid. He called us out and from there it just turned into a giant mess. Then you showed up outta the blue and just pinned everybody. Luckily, after you got floated off, Xavier wiped out all the memories of us, so the cat is still in the bag. For now, at least. I don't think they'll try it again, but who knows when we'll have to use our powers to help people?"

Luke nodded. "I know what you mean. We're supposed to help people and all that. When I was with Magneto yesterday, he saved a bud of kids because he thought one of them might've been a mutant. But he could've just as easily saved them because it was the right thing to do."

Scott nodded his head, agreeing. "I saw that when it happened. I wasn't sure how that bus got back on the bridge, but I wasn't sure what I would've done if he hadn't of intervened. I may have blown our cover just as wide open as Lance did, but without the Professor to hide it."

Jean patted Scott on the shoulder and said "I think we all would've risked it, Scott."

The group let out a "yeah" in agreement. And it was true. Somewhere along the line they all knew that they were supposed to do something more with themselves than just be normal. They were X-men. And they were finally back together again.

The teens stayed and chatted for a little while longer, before they finally split up to go enjoy their day. Scott and Jean were going out for ice cream, Kitty as going to write an email for her folks again, Kurt was going with Evan to the park to skateboard, and Rouge was going back to her room to read. Luke was left strolling around the mansion, thinking of what all he could get into for the afternoon in order to not waste it.

He rounded a corner, heading to the tennis court to grab a tennis ball for his wall game, but bumped into someone. A little someone who turned into a lot of little someones. Seven identical faces looked into his own as Luke picked himself up. The identical faces all piled back up into one body and vanished, seemingly merging up with the original boy. Luke smiled and stuck his hand out, saying "I'm Luke. I guess you're one of the younger students around here, right? Nice to meet you."

The boy looked at his hand for a moment before shaking it himself, squeezing tighter than he probably should've. Luke barely noticed, thinking more about the kid's mutation. It seemed cool.

"I'm Jamie. Sorry about bumping into you. I guess you see what I can do now…" The boy was nervous, as if he was used to being picked on or something whenever he accidentally cloned himself.

"It's cool. Don't worry about it. I think having a personal army of buddies to play tag with is cool. You like playing tag? Or hide and seek? I'm kinda bored and you look like you are too. We could go outside and play a bit if you'd like."

Jamie's face brightened as his head bobbled up and down. "Sure! All the other guys are playing pool and told me I was too short to play since I could see over the table that well."

Luke, now heading towards the back yard, commented "That hardly seemed nice of them. But whatever. With you making some duplicates, then we can have a lot of fun without them. And I even promise not to use my powers to make things unfair."

Jamie's stride as he fell in behind Luke slowed as they made it out to the back yard. There was still plenty of light out, as it was only mid-afternoon. Jamie finally mustered up his courage and admitted "I can't really make duplicates on my own. I don't know how to do it on purpose. Last time, it just happened."

Luke stopped and turned around to face Jamie, still smiling, much to the younger boy's surprise. All the other guys thought he was a loser for not being able to control his powers.

"It'll come to you in time, Jamie. I still have to work on controlling my powers even now, and I've been using mine for years. But I think I have an idea. Do you trust me?"

That was an odd question that had never ended all that well for Jamie before when other boys asked him. Even when Jamie was back home, he used to get pranked and picked on by older boys. He didn't think that Luke was that kind of guy, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd been wrong about judging character. Deciding to trust Luke after all, Jamie nodded his head slowly.

Luke's smile dimmed some when he saw Jamie's hesitancy to trust him, but decided to go through with his idea anyways. Making sure Jamie held still, Luke held his hands out, above his shoulders, feeling inside himself and finding his powers. When he had that feeling, he jerked his hands down. Jamie mimicked Luke's hands, collapsing to the ground like a sack of potatoes. But like Luke had hoped, the boy had instinctually split up into multiples. There were now six Jamie clones laying down on the grass.

They all slowly got up, looking at each other as realization set in and overcame the slight pain they felt. They all laughed out loud, before jumping in place at their apparent success at splitting. So with that, Luke decided to proceed with their yard games.

"If you guys want play tag, that'll be cool. But one, two, three, not me!"

One clone caught on a little slower than the rest and the games began. Everyone scattered running around and laughing like kids. Which was fine, because they were. It was really funny for Luke when the clones would mix up who was it because they all looked the same. Luke had fun, making sure not to move too quick and let himself get tagged on occasion to humor the younger and slower boy.

* * *

><p>"What're we going to do about the younger students until they can protect themselves? Rebecca's powers would give a bit of warning against Network agents or Magneto, but there's always the chance we'll be too busy to respond. They'll need someone there to protect them until they can work together as a team to protect themselves. I'd say let me or Storm do it, but we're gonna be busy pushing the older kids, Charles. You got any ideas?"<p>

Wolverine was outside on the patio with Xavier. The two were enjoying the good weather, as it was an illusion that the world was alright. But the two both knew something would have to be done in order to protect their students from the world. Xavier let his mind wander a bit in silence, coming across Luke and several copies of Jamie out in the yard. Stray thoughts sprung out from their minds, catching his attention and drawing him in some. Their sense of pleasure and happiness carried over to Xavier, making him smile in his wheelchair, without apparent reason. This made Logan ask the man just what exactly it was that he was smiling about.

Xavier just shook his head and looked out over the yard, before answering "I have an idea."

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, I know this isn't exactly before Christmas like I said it would be, but it's awful close. Thank you guys for reading and I hope you liked this chapter. There was a lot of unwritten character development that I'm conveying while Luke was with Magneto. And we all know the guy isn't a truly evil, so I hope I highlighted his good traits as well as his objectiveness. Luke has come back to the X-men changed. And I think it's mostly for the good. I won't hint as to where this all is going, but I am excited. Some ideas fluttered in on me and my plan for the story has been altered to suit them. Things are looking good.<p>

Review if you have anything to comment on and I look forward to writing you guys yet another chapter. Until then, BigWillis out!


	22. Not Tonight

AN: Sorry that this update's come a little late, but I've been working on another story that's stricken my fancy. So for now, bear with me as I get my new story on its feet and really rolling. Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of its property. I also have to give credit to Slaughterhouse for the chapter title. This comes from a track off of their Slaughterhouse EP. Great stuff.

Chapter 22

Not Tonight

"Are you sure about this, Professor? Do you really think I can do this? I mean, we only just got the team back together and now you want to split us up again. It doesn't really seem right. And what will the others think if I get put in charge and they weren't picked?"

Charles Xavier's office only had two occupants, but those two were arguably the most powerful in the mansion. One was the man himself, sitting behind his desk, his fingers intertwined in their signature pose as he thought deeply and carefully. He had to tread carefully now, lest he cause a rit that could push his students apart. But no what angle he looked things over, no matter the method he examined the dilemma before him, the only sound conclusion was sitting in front of him.

"I have faith in you, Jean. I believe you're strong enough in your gifts and mature enough to watch over the younger students. You've always shown exceptional leadership skills to supplement Scott's, but this will let you set the pace for once. You've always expressed a interest in becoming a teacher, correct? This would be a great place to start. I'm asking this of you because it's become increasing apparent that we aren't quite yet ready for everything, and everyone, out there waiting for us. These younger students need a strong role model to guide them and keep them safe. You are my choice to fill that role."

Jean Grey sat back further into her seat, biting on the inside of her lip, part of a bad habit she had yet to kick. She didn't meet Xavier's eyes directly, letting them wander over his desktop while she thought to herself. Doubts were rising up and tossing her focus around. Could she really take care of a bunch of mutant kids? Keep them safe from all harm, even the imposing threat that the Network still remained to the mansion, regardless of a few being apprehended? How would she even keep them from hurting each other?

Young mutants had a near non-existent control over their powers in most cases and like all other teenagers, the desire to have fun would make them reckless. No amount of reasoning with them would prevent that. Accidents would ensure, maybe even fatal ones. Could she protect them from that? Did she even want that? She was only just a girl. She had school to attend, soccer practice, homework, and training with the older mutants as well. Could she really afford to tack on yet another burden? Would it be worth it?

A bit of selfishness rose up within Jean. Her lips parted, almost uttering out the firm denial to Xavier's proposition. But she faltered, her consciousness not letting her make such a decision based on just her own whims. At this turn, Jean managed to mutter out "If you think it's best, Professor, then I'll try. But what about the others?"

The Professor smiled at the girl across from him, pleased with her decision. "I'm sure Scott and the others will make it just fine without you. They've all grown enough to handle situations without you. And with the return of Luke, they'll fare even better. He's grown well in his absence."

"Why didn't you pick him for this? He's closer to their age, in control of his powers better than I am, and they would listen to him better than they would me. He's more experienced dealing with other mutants than I am and he'd never let the other students come to harm if he could help it. Wouldn't he be a better choice?"

There was silence for a moment in the room. Jean had quickly taken it a sign that she had spoken out of place or that she now looked like she was trying to push responsibility off on another. That wasn't the case, so when Xavier spoke, it relieved that minor worry from her.

"Luke was a possibility that I considered for a longer time than I did with you. Several of the things you mentioned were some of the positives I thought of when I considered him. But there wasn't any getting around that Luke's circumstance isn't fitting for the safety of the younger students. At the moment, he's missing a rather large part of his personal memories and has been out of contact with the world for nearly a month. He'll have a tremendous amount of work to catch up with at school as well as the doctor's appointments he'll need to make for his alibi. On top of that, Luke's growth has been unchecked and it would be unwise to let such a loose power lead. He's not sure what he's capable of and that compromises his judgment. If some of things were sorted out, then I would offer you both the choice and let you decide. But he's not safe for them at the moment."

Jean quit her chewing, suddenly noticing that she had been doing it. A further self-examination made her shake her head to clear her thoughts, before refocusing on the Professor. "Rebecca still will be supervising over the team's sessions, correct? You just want me to be a team captain?"

"Yes. Her second-in-command, if you would. Her powers wouldn't place her in the midst of a fight and that could make it hard for her to protect her students. With you, you could read her thoughts and follow her instructions to protect the younger students in ways no one else could. You telekinesis is very powerful, Jean. Your telepathy is growing as well. You can do this."

The smile was still on his face, reassuring the girl. She trusted Xavier's judgment better than her own, so she would do this for him. She nodded her head, her red hear bobbing along with it. "I'll help out the best I can. I'm sure the others will understand. Thanks for the talk Professor. I gotta head off to school now. They're having an awards day for the soccer team!"

Xavier nodded his head at her departure, smiling until the door to his office latched shut again. At that point, his smile began to taper and slip off of his face. His hands collapsed to his desk, palms first. Lately, the man had been exhausted. He'd been surrounded by bad news and trying situations. He'd recently recovered from his Astral Plane experience to find his mansion in disarray. It'd taken most of his effort to straighten things back out to a sense of normalcy. And what was left of his time and energy was sent conferring with his newest adversary.

Nick Fury had proven to be a very difficult person to manage with words. He was a hard negotiator and seemed to only attempt anything if he had several contingency plans set up to make sure nothing fell through. He was an inspiring man for Xavier, who could only applaud the foresight the man had for protecting the people. All people. From everything. While Xavier didn't admire the dirty hands Nick had, he could only bear through that not everyone understood peace could be gained without forcing it.

The man had come into contact with him again over a secured telephone line and the conversation had been a troubling one for Xavier to sit through. The very first statement from the man was an accusation that the mansion had deliberately left out information of another Network operative and it had cost him 17 soldiers and his prisoners. The second was a warning of what the repercussions could be if Xavier didn't explain in a satisfactorily way why the mansion hadn't deliberately left Nick flying blind. Needless to say, the warning was enough to inspire a thorough explanation from Xavier.

It had been proven that the agent who was missing, the one who could cloak herself, could also seem to remove her presence from people's minds. When her powers activated, people lost their ability to fully remember or register her. Logan had literally been unable to remember her to warn Nick, even after her near fatal attack on his students.

Nick had accepted this explanation as it collaborated with the few reports he had personally taken from the few surviving soldiers of the squad. The man admitted that it wasn't an entire loss as they did manage to gather a full report on that squad and also been led to an abandoned Network facility. It wasn't much of a lead, but it was more than they had seen before in their case against the Network. The man had then asked for Xavier's assistance in their case against the crime organization.

This had left Xavier in a precarious position. He couldn't outright refuse Mr. Fury, as the man had power that could harm Xavier's goals and work. But he couldn't promise assistance unless he was willing to involve his people any more than they already were, something he was dead set against. He had been left with carefully wording that he would assist at the benefit of them both.

Fury, catching onto Xavier's drift, had returned rather bluntly that it would be of assistance to both of them to put the crime organization six feet under. Xavier complied to help as he could, but told Nick that he had his own priorities before putting mutants behind bars. Fury then threatened him, telling the man that he wasn't putting mutants behind bars, but criminals, and he'd do well to learn the difference.

The conversation had ended shortly after that and the bald cripple had been left exhausted ever since. He'd spent near all of his waking time spent on finding a way to deal with the Network should they ever show themselves back at his school. Thus, he'd been led to appoint a more experienced X-man to watch over the New Mutants with Rebecca, who wasn't combat savvy. Jean had eased his mind greatly with her acceptance of the position and now he could look into tackling other problems.

Other problems had been solving themselves as well. Luke's memory had been returning. It wasn't immediate, but at the rate he was recalling the trivialities of life at the mansion, he would have it back shortly. And it wasn't even Xavier's doing. It seemed that the method used to hold the memories back wasn't permanent and was like a dam that hadn't been regulated. It had now sprung a leak and Luke's memories were coming back. The only problem would be if the dam gave way completely, causing a flood. That could be very painful for the boy, which was something Xavier would like to avoid.

There was also a strong connection between the new students that surprised Xavier. He hadn't expected them to fall together as a team so quickly. It was an unexpected boon of the Network's invasion of his home. At the moment, all of them would be staying in the mansion. They were to inexperienced to place in public school, so Xavier would be teaching them, with help from his staff of course.

The man's weary eyes caught sight of the digital clock on the corner of his desk. It was five till eight. He had a class to teach in just a few minutes. Turning his wheelchair, he made his way out of his office and deeper into the mansion. He was tired, exhausted even, but his students required of him and he would provide. He had sworn to.

* * *

><p>"Fibromyalgia? You want me to believe that you were out for nearly a month because you have Fibromyalgia? Oh man, you're full of it. You better pray that your Professor can pull the wool over the principal's eyes. It sounds like complete bullshit."<p>

"Oh what would you know? You're just some dumb blonde. I've seen enough episodes of House to know that this is legitimate enough to work. All I have to do is act hurt all the time. Can't be that hard. Xavier's getting a doctor to do all the paperwork and it'll all be official. Your one and only friend will be in chronic pain. The least you could do is have some sympathy."

Luke's first day back at school was much less exciting than he had expected. His teacher had hardly noticed his return, but when she did, she gave him an even dirtier look than normal, as if reprimanding him for missing so much school. But she had returned to her lecture soon enough, ignoring him per the norm. Other students glanced back at him occasionally, whispering questions about where he had been, but he hadn't bothered to give any answers. The rumors would spread soon enough.

Amanda hadn't even that surprised at his return, smacking him on the shoulder when he sat down. When he asked for an explanation, she merely said it was payback for leaving her by herself in this class for so long. It had hurt Luke some when she didn't ask any about what had happened after the asteroid, or what happened after the fight at the soccer game. It was like she wasn't worried about his well-being for that time period. Like she didn't care at all how he was, so long as he was back now to entertain her.

They hadn't exactly made up after their shouting match at the airport, but he still expected her to be a bit more worried for him than this. He would've been worried if she'd gone missing for a month. He'd of been even more worried if he'd seen her get hurt like he'd been. But Amanda didn't seem to have that kind of worry. She was fine.

Luke had pushed back his feelings over her lack of care. Thinking about it made him feel like a drama queen trying to make a big deal out of it. It _was_ a big deal, but if she didn't want to bring it up, then fine. He'd settle for them getting back to the way they were before. He'd missed that, in a way. She was a lively person and one of his only friends outside of the mansion. He didn't remember talking to anyone else as much as he did with her.

He faced her again, cocking his head to the side to get a good look at her. She looked the same as always. Pretty, devilish, and full of mischief. She caught his gaze and grinned. He returned it cheekily.

"You know, Randy _did_ end up hooking up with Sarah. They got caught in the bathroom last week, glued to each other in one of the stalls making out. The Principal was swearing so loud you could hear him in the gym. I just thought it was lucky he caught them before they'd made it to the good part. The last thing this school needs is another girl carrying a Randy Jr. like Rebecca. It's made her moody and miserable to be around."

Gossip was a majority of the conversations the two had, mostly because Amanda always had her nose in other people's business and she was a cheerleader. Practice was practically a hotspot for school news. The reason she talked to Luke about it was mostly because he didn't mind talking about other people as crassly as she did. The two were notorious for going too far when picking fun at people.

"I just don't understand you girls. You claim to want real relationships, but yet you hook up with the nearest guy who's willing to put his junk out there for you. Everyone already knows that Randy's been out there getting some, but Sarah's probably been screaming that it's true love, right? It's retarded."

"Scientifically, Sarah was attracted to him because women are drawn to men who are known to be fertile. It's just one of those things, like guys being attracted to girl with a big rack because it's a sign of fertility and men instinctively go after women who can bear their children." Amanda said that with a completely straight face, before cracking up at the confused look Luke gave her.

"Someone must've been watching Animal Planet. At least you learned something for once. I'm astounded you haven't been telling me about Snooki's wedding or some crap like that."

"Snooki's getting married?!" Amanda all but shouted, getting a majority of the class to turn and look at her. She slunk down into her seat some at the incredulous stares. Mrs. Barnes lecture slowed, but the woman pushed through the outburst from her trouble making student. The students could tell the strain it was causing her from the edge her voice took.

Luke laughed at Amanda before answering "Do I look like the kind of person who would know that? I could care less if she got married. I'm just saying that _you_ look like one of those girls who would know, because you love your MTV idols to death."

Amanda glowered at Luke for a moment, before she was interrupted by the bell. The two exited the class among the chattering students, before Amanda pulled Luke back from the loud hall for a second. He turned around, already guessing what she would say.

'_I missed you Luke. I'm so glad that your back and not being mind controlled anymore. It's also a plus that you don't have a giant hole in your chest and aren't bleeding profusely all over the place.'_ Luke thought to himself sarcastically, already preparing himself to spit some smart remark whenever she got around to saying it.

What she actually said caught him guard and left him unaware for a moment. "So I think you should take me to this party tonight. Since you're just now coming home and everything, you owe me. So I'll expect you to pick me up at 7."

"Huh?" That was all Luke could say. He was dumbfounded. Not only by the fact that she would want him to take her to a party, but that she felt he owed her that much. She was crazy.

"Ok then. You'll need to dress up some because my escort can't look like a homeless bum when he opens the door for me. And it's at Duncan Mathew's house. You'll need to figure out where that is so you don't waste my time tonight. Anyways, I'll see you at lunch."

With that, she slipped out of the door right beside him and left her friend dumbstruck. Luke's sense finally came back to him and he stuck his head out of the door, ready to call her back so he could say something, but she had already turned the corner down the hall and vanished. Luke withdrew his head, still stumped at the turn of events.

Mrs. Barnes came up beside him before shooing him out of the door, saying "I wish she would shut you up like this when you two are in class. Now get out of here before I send you to the principal!"

Luke barely made it to his next class before the tardy bell rang, squeaking in just as the teacher was shutting the door.

"Ah, so you've finally chosen to show your face back at this school, Mr. Hensley? I'm afraid you'll have a lot of catching up to do in your spare time. We've moved on from chapter 4 and we're now halfway through chapter 6. I expect you to come in during free time and make up all of the quizzes and tests that you have missed in your departure."

"Sure thing, boss man. I'll get around to it."

Luke sat down in his normal seat and tired to make sense of what was on the board. None of it looked familiar, but the teacher began his lecture and Luke caught on soon enough. It wasn't like the class was that hard to begin with. He was busy scribbling things down in his notebook from the time the he sat down till the bell rang, not giving him much time to contemplate what he was going to say to Amanda at lunch.

The thought of going to a party with her wasn't comforting. It made his stomach hurt. But she wasn't the type of girl to simply take 'no' for an answer. And even if he did say no, he'd regret it. The girl had her ways of getting back at him. They were almost as numerous as his ways of getting even. So when he sat down next to her at the lunch table, he wasn't sure what to say. So he just put it out there.

"I don't want to take you to the party." There. Now she knew and she would process it. She'd probably take it bad, but it'd be better for them both if she just got the message outright instead of figuring it out afterwards. Luke watched a few emotions pass over her face, before a rather nasty one settled on it.

"And why not? Are you too good to spend any time with your only friend who's not an X-geek? Or do you just not want to be friends anymore?" The accusations were very serious in her point of view, but she ruined the vibe by the way she was holding her corndog at him like it was a threatening weapon of his demise.

"First off, get your food out of my face. Second off, I never said any of that, I just said I didn't want to take you. Third off, why would any of those questions even come to mind unless you think our friendship is insecure? The only way it could be is if you feel bad about it, cause I feel fine, except for the part where you expect me to gallivant you around like a show pony just for your own sick amusement."

The corndog was retracted from his personal space, but the blonde was still waving it around as she said "You jerk! You turn me down after I offer to let you take me out for a night and then you have the nerve to say I'm the one feeling insecure? I'm not that one who's having to do a reality check and catch back up to how everyone's doing after being off playing around for a month or so."

"Oh, so now my month of being captured and held against my will is about you, huh? Tell me, how was your miserable little life without me by your side for you to spit on a kick like a lost puppy for five minutes? It must've been terrible to not have your whipping boy here to do exactly as you say and to drop everything at your whim. I could only imagine the suffering you went through, staying locked up with the Brotherhood clowns, blowing through your dad's money like there was no tomorrow doing whatever you wanted. It must've really sucked to be here without me. Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm making this about me? Well excuse me, but in case you hadn't noticed, you dropped out of my life and now you just want me to let you back in like nothing happened. I was alone without you. I didn't have hardly anyone to talk to or anything even remotely fun to do when you were gone. Now you've come back and I want you to come hang out with me at some stupid party that's probably gonna be lame anyways, just so we can spend a little time together. But no, you want to wallow in your own self-pity at the bad things that happened to you. Fine. Go back to your mansion and sulk the night away. But this is your shot at having a friend who actually wants to help you do something for once and quit being the guy that's always alone in a room full of people."

"I'm not a socially inept outcast! I couldn't possibly have as many friends as you do, but I think that's mostly because of the fact I don't have my chest flopping out of my shirt every other five seconds to attract guy's attention. I'm not sulking. I'm fine. I've moved past getting shot and all that other good stuff. You're the one who thinks I should be stuck wallowing on it! I'd love to go out and do something, but I'm not gonna be your servant and take you wherever while you walk around ignoring me for everyone else that's gonna be at that party. Maybe for once, if you thought about anyone asides yourself, you'd ask for someone else what they want for once. That why you were all alone without me in the first place, because no one asides me will put up with your selfish attitude!"

"Fine, let me beg you to come do something you've picked out for us to do so we could have a little fun. Oh wait, I forgot! You don't ever do anything! You stay locked up in your fancy home and stay there because you're scared to come out and be with people. So I guess I better apologize for being a little overbearing when I told you our plans for tonight. I didn't realize I'd hurt your sensitive little feelings by not asking for your permission to ask for you to go somewhere. I didn't think I would need to because I thought you were a little more mature than that!"

"Are you freakin' kidding me? It's like I'm talking to a 12-year old over here. You're the one being childish about this. You're worse than I am!"

"Like that's really such a bad thing. That the only reason we hang out in the first place." Now she really was being childish, smirking at him now that he was all wound up and making a weak argument. Luke noticed and let some of the tension slip ease as he answered.

"You're right. My friendship priorities are out of whack because the only people I enjoy being around a terrible and have no proper sense of value for friendship."

"So this is really all just your fault and you should shut up and admit it!" The smugness on her face was as apparent as the sun. The argument had built up and the two had gone from snapping at each other's throats and settled back down to this. They were grinning ear to ear at trying to get one up at each other. Whoever got the last word in would win it all.

"I can't admit anything if I shut up, you ignoramus. And what did I just finish saying about you telling me what to do?"

"If I didn't tell you what to do, you wouldn't ever do anything. So together we make an incredible team because I'm the brains of this operation."

"If only you had any brains of your own, then you'd be perfect."

"Well I guess I'm the closest thing to perfect you'll ever get the chance to see."

Luke's grin couldn't get any bigger as he stood up from his seat and pulled her up from hers as well, wrapping her up in a tight hug and squeezing her to the point of the display of affection almost being painful and lifting her off her feet.

"I missed you. A lot."

He set her down as the cafeteria erupted in clapping and cheering from the other students, who had all been watching the two's shouting match with great interest. Those two were the biggest pranksters in school and were well known for the great insults and comebacks they spewed. Luke noticed the applause and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before settling down in his seat. Amanda was still shocked by what he'd whispered to her when he'd picked her up. She sat back down and stared at her tray for a moment, thinking and waiting on the redness of her face to settle back down. When it did, she looked up and saw Luke looking back at her.

"So you'll pick me up at 7?"

The boy threw his hands up in the air in exasperation before slumping down and cradling his head in between his hands.

"Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes, you incessant woman! Why I ever decided to talk to you my first day here, I'll never know."

"Because you thought I was sexy, that's why. Don't feel bad for it. I've suckered a lot of guys over the years with my feminine charm and amazing smile."

"You sure it wasn't you're wonderful, people pleasing personality?" Luke called out from in between his hands.

"Oh stop, you're embarrassing me. You really know how to compliment a girl, don't you? I never expected you to be such a sweet talker."

A resounding thud filled the air as Luke's hands slipped from around his head and his forehead collided with the table.

"Someone, have mercy and shoot me now!" Luke pleaded into the table, barely audible to Crystal.

"I would, but you'd just live through it again, you super-powered freak of nature." The rebuttal was barely audible, but Luke could still hear the mirth in her voice. She was enjoying this.

Luke's head lifted up off the table just enough to catch her gaze, hissing out a "Shut up. You're just mad because I'm harder to get rid of than you thought."

"To be honest I'm thankful. Now that I know you're bulletproof, think of all the fun things I can put you through without having to worry over your safety!"

"I hate you so much sometimes."

"I know."

The two were about to continue like this for a while longer, but a bell rang, followed by an announcement over the intercom. "Students, please report to the auditorium at this time. Instead of going to your third class, we'll be having our award ceremony for the triumphant soccer team this season. Go Bayville Hawks!"

The masses of teenagers all began to mill about, making their way to the auditorium for the ceremony. Most were thankful of the chance to miss their third class, while others were swearing up a storm at how boring this was going to be. Luke didn't care much about the ceremony, but he knew that Jean was part of the soccer team and that it meant a lot to her. So if it was important to her, then he didn't mind it so much.

He tried to sit close to his housemates, but somehow ended up between Amanda and Terrence. The later had a large scowl on his face to match his heavily bandaged hand. Other students were warded off by the angry aura about him, scared for their safety. Terrence was known for having a mean temper and for picking fight in school. No one wanted to risk his wrath, even if he was injured.

Terrence hardly noticed Luke's presence beside him, just grunting a greeting at his rival before slumping down in his seat and cradling his injured hand. Luke sat down carefully next to him, before indiscreetly asking Crystal what had happened to him.

The girl glanced at Terrence, who just huffed in annoyance at the assembly, before returning her gaze to Luke and whispering "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

Luke just shrugged in his seat before turning his attention to the principal. He was different from the last one, but Luke figured that with as busy as Mystique had been the last few weeks, she wasn't in place to run a school and they brought someone else in. This man looked to be even more stern and a stickler for the rules, no matter how supportive he was of the athletic program he was.

He began his speech on school pride and thanked everyone for turning out for a successful soccer season, then went on to announce the team's MVP. Jean was the unanimous choice, but the girl still had the modesty to act surprised when she was called out for the award, something that Luke doubted she had faked.

Amanda wasn't as convinced and said as much. "Oh, look at her acting all surprised. She probably used her little mind games to bamboozle the other teams to make herself look good."

Luke poked Amanda in the side, making her reflexively jump in her seat. "Quit being so jealous. I'll start to think the watch is malfunctioning from how green you're turning."

The blonde just glared at him as Jean took to the podium. She smiled at the crowd of students, accepting the trophy offered to her by the principal. Apparently, she was expected to say a few words as she began to talk into the microphone, thanking everyone.

But for some reason, mid way through thanking everyone, she broke off, as if she was somewhere else. A moment later, she tried to start again, apologizing for her lapse, only for it to happen again. Her head was beginning to swivel rapidly, locking on to different spots of the crowd. Taking a step back, the redhead began to clutch her head in pain. So lost, she knocked over the trophy table behind her, sending the awards flying in a clatter. Her own award slipped out of her hand and smashed on the floor, knocking the head off of it.

Jean recovered shortly after that, picking up her trophy and returning to the podium in a much calmer state. She made a joke about loosing her head, which most of the kids laughed at. Luke was too busy wondering about what had happened to Jean to hear the joke, and even if he was paying attention, all he would've heard was Amanda griping and complaining about the girl.

Jean finished thanking everyone and the assembly was shortly over, everyone heading off to their fourth class. Luke made it out of the auditorium quickly, saying a short goodbye to Amanda as he headed to class. His arrival at the computer lab was greeted with silence as the teacher clacked away on the keyboard. She seemed to be in one of her signature bad moods and as soon as he plopped down in his regular seat in front of her desk, she dug in one of her drawers and grabbed a pill container.

She popped it open wordlessly and downed to of the small tablets and followed it with a sip of her diet soda. The sight reminded Luke of his recent experience with medication after his arms had broken. It wasn't a comfortable memory.

"So, how've you been? I haven't seen you in a little wile. You get up to much this past weekend? I heard that there were a bunch of good parties around town while I was away."

"Shut up. Don't talk to me like you're familiar with me. You've spent more time absent from my class than you have in it. Just sit there and be quiet."

"Well when you treat me so warmly, it's hard to stay away from this wonderful and educational environment." Luke replied sarcastically.

The woman's eyes came unglued from her computer monitor and she narrowed them on Luke's own. His gaze shifted after a second as she began to rant "I'm not in the mood to waste my breath with such an insolent child like yourself. If you were a little more mature and had any sort of decency in your upraising, then you would understand this. I'm sure your parents must be turning in their graves right now if they're seeing how you act."

Luke bit his lip for a moment, holding back what he was going to say at first. The woman seemed satisfied by this and returned her view to the monitor. Luke steeled himself before thinking over his next course of action thoroughly. Bending over and acting as if he was getting something from his bag, Luke looked under the teacher's desk to see his target. He followed the wire to it's outlet. With the flick of his wrist, the cable unplugged and the boy could hear the computer die out.

The woman sat in shock as her monitor went black. She stuttered for a moment, still watching the screen, trying to make sense of what just happened. Only the sound of a chair pulling up next to her stirred her from her mourning. Luke was sitting right next to her, looking directly at her pretty face.

"Now that I have your complete and undivided attention, let's talk."

* * *

><p>Luke stood in front of the mirror for the umpteenth time that night, looking over his state of dress and combing over his short hair needlessly. He had gotten ready for Duncan's stupid party over an hour ago, but didn't have anything else to do and his mind was too distracted for him to stop and think. So he was stuck in front of his dresser, staring at the small mirror attached to it as he meticulously groomed himself for no reason.<p>

He was going on his first real date tonight. But it was with a friend who was firmly keeping him grounded in the friend zone. And that kinda bothered him. He didn't like that he was so friendly to this girl that he would do this for her and they weren't going for a couple's relationship. They were just two people who enjoyed having fun with each other. They were only friends. So if this was a friendship, then what was a real romantic relationship like? He tossed the question out of his head. He had other things to think on.

He'd have to apologize sometime to her tonight for not being in class tomorrow. He had most assuredly been chewed out by his teacher and the principal for his little stunt in his last class. They'd assigned him 3 days suspension to contemplate his actions while also giving him time to make up his missing assignments. Luke didn't really care about that part, but Amanda would be pissed at him after she finished laughing at the story.

He'd also have to make it up to the Professor. Only spending one day in school before being suspended wasn't a good show. But the principal did seem to buy the whole fibromyalgia thing. That was part of the reason his punishment was so 'lenient'. They were giving him time to adjust to a life harasses by sickness. How touching.

Throwing thee comb down on his dresser, he stared at a moment and thought about picking it back up again, but decided against it and left his room, making sure he had his phone and keys for later. He headed down to the break room, hoping to find someone to talk to and take his mind off of things.

Instead of Kurt or even Evan, Luke found one of the new girls. He wasn't even sure of her name, but he knew she was one of the girls he'd saved. From the doorway, he almost thought of leaving her be as she seemed focused on the TV, but something must've given his presence away. She turned and stared at him for a moment, before she remembered him and her face brightened.

"Hey! I'm glad to see you! Me and Marley hadn't had the chance to thank you properly after you had rested up. We got busy with the classes and training and you always seemed to not be around when we had free time. So how are you?"

Luke's hand slipped behind his head ass he scratched at it sheepishly, replying "Oh, you know…I've been busy getting settled back in and all that. I've got a mountain of schoolwork to catch back up on at some point and my friend is dragging me out to some lame party tonight."

"Duncan Mathew's party? I heard that his parents let him have the house to himself and that _everybody_ was gonna be there! How could you not want to go? I've always wanted to go to a party like that!"

Luke just grinned, before fully entering the room and sitting down in a chair near the couch the girl was perched on. "Why don't you come to this one? The Professor doesn't have the younger students on house arrest for icing over the front walkway, does he?"

The girl looked confused for a moment as the two both called out "Bobby." simultaneously. The girl giggled before saying "No, we're free to go places so long as we go in a group or one of the teachers comes. And it's not like most of us can drive anyways. And besides… My powers aren't exactly easy to hold back like yours are. All it would take would be a little slip up on my part and the entire house would go completely crazy. It's best that I don't ever get in a crowd like that. At least not until I learn how to control myself better."

That was a downer if Luke had heard one. The poor girl was afraid to go out and have fun with other people because of what she might do to them. Luke's powers might've been a literal pain, but at least he could control them enough to go out in public.

"Don't worry to much about it. Xavier knows what he's doing. You'll be out there partying the night away like the rest of us before too long. And then you'll realize they're not all they seem cracked up to be."

The girl twirled a strand of hair around her finger, thinking about what he'd said, when Scott rushed past the room in a dash. Luke arced his head to see where the fire was, before the realization hit him and he jumped up.

"Oh crap! I forgot what time it was! I'm soooo late now! She's gonna kill me! I'll see you later. Nice talking to you!"

With that, Luke vaulted over the comfy chair and ran out of the room after Scott. The girl got up and stuck her head out of the door, hollering after the boy "My name is Katie, you know!", but the teen was long gone and out of ear shot. Logan walked by the girl and said "He must be late for picking p that little girlfriend of his. What an idiot."

Katie stepped back inside the break room, forgetting all about the movie as she muttered to herself "He's got a girlfriend?"

* * *

><p>The party was well in swing when Luke arrived, Amanda in tow. Luckily, he managed to park his motorcycle close to the house instead of far away from the house. It probably went a long way in easing some of Amanda's anger at him.<p>

She hadn't taken his tardiness well, even less so when she finally pulled out of him that he was late because he was talking with some girl. Amanda didn't show just how much this angered her, instead choosing to give Luke an icy shoulder.

Luke opened the door to the house and discreetly ushered the blonde inside. The two made an inconspicuous arrival and mingled into the crowd without anyone knowing they were late. When the two had made the rounds of waving and chatting to everyone they knew (quite an effort on Amanda's part, due to her knowing near everyone at the party on some level), Luke was left with just standing around watching everyone else.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Luke whispered into Amanda's ear, ducking down to make his question near inaudible. The girl looked up at him, surprised, before gesturing him to lean back in.

"I'm not real sure. We could go make out in a corner somewhere or you could lead me over to the ping pong table. It looks like Scott and Duncan are fixing to go at it."

Amanda began to make her way to the table, causing a red-faced Luke to aimlessly follow behind. Indeed the high school football star and the sunglass-sporting Cyclops were facing each other off at the table tennis table.

As soon as it started, the two began to hammer away at the poor plastic ball as hard as they could while still keeping it in the court. It was both impressive and lucky. Both of them were making incredible shots, but they were knocking guests around in an attempt to make and return shots. The two began getting more and more out of hand until finally Jean intervened.

Luke narrowed his eyes when he noticed Jean using her powers, but no one else seemed to pick up on it. He didn't like it, but he wasn't going to butt in when she was in her lecture mode. Scott slipped off towards the large balcony over looking a great view and a pool below. He perched up on the rails and seemed to be taking a breather from the intensity outside.

Luke excused himself from Amanda and made his way outside, tapping on the railing to let Scott know he was there. The tall teen turned to see who was bothering him and seemed to slump down some when he saw it was Luke.

"That was a nice little game there. Remind me to play you some other time."

"Pfft. Who cares about the stupid game? Jean's furious at me now. I shouldn't of even bothered to come to this stupid party. Even you have an actual date to this thing while I'm just a third wheel." Scott's head hung low as he admitted this, obviously feeling bad about his match with Duncan.

"Don't feel too bad, man. Jean probably asked you to be here. And it's not like I would be here if Amanda didn't want me here. Jean appreciates you being here and you're there for her when it really matters. She'll come around and see Duncan for the jerk he is and all you have to do is wait."

The team leader's face reddened some, but in the dimly lit balcony light, it was hard to tell. "Duncan's been great to her though. He's given her a lot and she really likes him. I don't want to come between that and her hate me for it. But he _is_ a serious jerk."

"She'll realize it soon enough. Besides…It's not like he really know her. You know her better than he ever will, dude. Mutant powers aside, you two can tell what the other's thinking without even being in the same room. It's creepy. But it proves just how much you two mean to each other. Now I'm gonna go find my 'date' and see if I can't find something to eat. A place this big has got to have a fridge somewhere, right? You stay out here until Jean finished yelling at Duncan, then apologize, okay?"

The teen didn't answer as Luke slipped back inside. He saw Jean head his was hurriedly, clutching at her head in pain. He got out of her way, before making his way over to Amanda by the punch bowl.

"What happened to Jean? Did Duncan finally make her come down to his level of stupid and make her brain melt or what?"

Amanda crossed her arms, giving the door that led to the balcony distasteful looks. "I don't know. I'm not the girl's keeper. We're not even friends. Why don't you go ask if you really care?"

Luke just sighed before pouring himself a small glass of punch to sip on. _'I shouldn't of bothered to ask. Crystal hates Jean. But Scott's out there, so he'll take care of it. Now where is that fridge?'_

Before Luke could spot it, he heard the sounds of screaming and rushed to the balcony with the other partygoers, to where the sound had come from. Jean and Duncan were both there, peering down over the ledge. Luke made his way over and looked down. Scott was down there, bobbing up and down in the water. How he'd made it down there, no one seemed to know. He clambered out and began to ring out his clothes, soaked to the bone from his little dip.

Luke could tell there was a story waiting to be told from the look on Jean's face, but decided not to bug her for it. He'd get it from Scott later anyways. The crowd all laughed at the unexpected swim and made their way back inside for the last bit of festivities, but Luke was ready to go. He didn't have anything else to do here and he hadn't had that much fun in the first place.

Amanda didn't mind when he nudged for the door, making towards it quickly. They escaped the house without any notice and before long, Luke had them coasting down the paved drive and back towards the city of Bayville. As she clung on to him, the blonde girl leaned in and shouted over the background noise "Are you hungry? I'm dying for some ice cream."

With that in mind, the two quickly found themselves in a small ice cream parlor, minutes before it closed for the night. Amanda went right to the cashier, who wasn't exactly happy to see them at such an hour, but smiled nonetheless.

"I'd like a small scoop of the diet vanilla ice cream right there. And could you add sprinkles?"

The cashier complied, getting her order before turning to Luke, who was still looking at all the choices. Luke noticed his time was up and asked for a scoop of chocolate-peanut butter ice cream. The worker scooped it up before ringing up the purchase. Amanda started digging at her small purse bag, only to realize she hadn't brought it with her for the party. Luke didn't care as he merely paid for them both and led her out of the shop so the worker could close.

"Thanks for that. I'll have to pay you back for it later."

Luke waved his hand dismissingly, declining the payment. "No need. It's not that big a deal."

The two made small talk while Amanda leaned on Luke's bike, laughing and joking until their ice creams were gone. All the while, Luke couldn't help but wonder if this was what a date really was supposed to be like. After the two finished, they both got back on the motorcycle and Luke took her back to the Brotherhood house. He dropped her off and walked her up to the doorstep, chatting with her the entire way and laughing.

Why? Why was he walking her up to the door? Why couldn't he remember what they were talking about or why her face was crinkled up in that cute way when she laughed? And why was she leaning in so much?

Luke wasn't sure what was going on and his head was spinning, but when the door to the Brotherhood home jerked open, everything stopped. Terrence stuck his head outside before taking a few steps out into the night. He still looked to be in a bad mood. Luke looked at his good hand and saw the new scratches on it and guessed that the teen must've been taking some of that anger out recently.

"Crystal, what're you doing? Are you gonna stay out here and talk with dipshit over there or are you gonna drag you ass in here? I don't really give a damn what you do, but you've got all of five seconds before I shut and lock the door and you have to shack up with your lover boy."

Crystal glared at Terrence, but before she could say anything, Luke did. He wasn't sure why Terrence's words had made him so mad, but for some reason he was. Maybe some of Scott had rubbed off on him?

"What happened to your hand there, Springboy? You look like you've had a little accident there. Maybe you should invest in a little lotion next time and save yourself the wrist injury. That looks pretty painful."

Amanda nearly choked on air when Luke said that, but Terrence wasn't so easily amused. Before Luke could even really see what was going on, Terrence had cocked his fist back and decked him in the face, flooring him. Terrence hadn't even charged his powers up, but Luke's face lit up in pain. His head was swimming again and he faintly heard Crystal shout something. Springload reached down with his good hand and dragged Luke upright, ready to hit him again.

A crystal wall grew straight from the floor, splitting the two teens and preventing a fight from starting. Amanda grabbed Terrence by his shoulder and shoved him towards the door. He glared at her for trying to boss him around, but smirked when he looked back at Luke. Amanda snapped her fingers and shattered the crystal wall as Terrence left the two alone again. Must've been a new trick she'd learned.

Luke stared at the door, not sure of what to say and not wanting to look Crystal in the eyes. He felt horrible now and couldn't think of anything to say to save any face.

"I'm sorry, Luke. He's been real upset since his hand got busted up at the soccer game. He went to a doctor, but they couldn't do anything asides set it in a cast. I don't know why he barged in on us, but he was a real prick for doing it. Listen, I gotta go now. I'll see you later, okay?"

Luke didn't even look her in the face, just nodded his head as she slipped inside the house and shut the door behind her, shutting him off and ending his night with her. Luke stared at the door for a while longer, not really sure of the time passing. Finally, when some sense came back to him, he decided to leave. Undoubtedly, Springload was watching him to see if he'd start anything else tonight. He wouldn't give the boy the satisfaction.

Revving up his bike, he drove off of the gravel drive and made his way back to the mansion. Parking it in the garage in his normal spot, he slipped back inside. The foyer was deserted, but he could see a large stain in the carpet and knew Scott had returned home at least. He made his way up the stairs, headed to his room to turn in for the night.

He was tired, hurt, and he didn't have any other reason to stay up. He'd deal with Xavier lecturing him tomorrow and get started on all of his school work then too. On his way to his room, he passed by the break room again. The TV was on, making Luke stop and see what was on. It was some reality show on people with weird medical conditions. Luke stepped inside the room and cut the screen off and turned to leave, when he heard something mutter "Hey! I was watching that!" sleepily.

Luke looked around, before finding the voice. It was coming from the same girl from earlier, only she was buried under a blanket and a few pillows. She was barely awake, but she started waking up again when she stretched and sat up on the couch.

"My bad. I didn't see you. But it looks like you were watching the back of your eyelids than you were watching the dwarfism guy."

The girl didn't fret over it, accepting his apology easily. "It's ok. I need to go to bed anyways. I heard that we've got a big training exercise tomorrow and I want to be ready. My powers don't let me do a lot in the Danger Room, so I need to be fully rested to not be such a liability."

Luke's bad mood seemed to be pushed to the back of his mind momentarily at the girl talking. Someone who talked down on herself so much shouldn't of been. He'd witnessed her powers and knew for himself that she was tremendously helpful to him when Magneto had brought him back to the mansion.

"That's not true you know. Everybody here thinks you can do some amazing things. I know I do. You woke me up just by touching me. You made Marley brave enough to help me. And there's something else about you…You just make everything feel better. I don't know how else to describe it. Even now I can tell. My night has sucked and just being in the same room with you makes me feel better." Luke laughed at that, before adding "Man, that was so corny. My bad."

She laughed at that, brightening up some. "Thanks. I'm glad you all feel that way. I'll try my best to keep it up then."

Luke nodded, before heading towards the door. Both of them needed to go get some rest and he wasn't gonna keep her up talking about nothing. She followed behind him, as the rooms were all in the same direction.

The walking stirred the girl further from her sleep and as she secretly looked Luke over, she saw his face bruised and swollen. It certainly wasn't like that before he had left for the party.

"Did you get in a fight tonight? Is that why it's been so bad?"

Luke looked at the girl for a moment, rubbing at his sore spot before answering "Partially. It wasn't at the party. But I got hit for running my mouth too much is all. I made a mad guy even madder, so what was I expecting? I really felt bad because of who it happened in front of."

The girl winced in sympathy, making Luke look at her funny. Did she know something? The girl saw the look and decided to explain herself.

"I'm sorry. Getting hit in front of your girlfriend must've been hard."

Luke stopped mid-stride and caught the girl by her arm in a loose grip, turning her towards him. Looking directly at her, perhaps a little too intensely from the redness of her face, he declared "She's not my girlfriend. I don't have a girlfriend. I don't even have anybody who would _want_ to be my girlfriend. Who told you I had a girlfriend?"

"Mr. Logan? He just said that was why you were in such a hurry to leave. He must've not have meant girlfriend literally."

Luke just shook his head and started walking towards his rooms again. The girl caught back up before apologizing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. But if this girl isn't your girlfriend and doesn't want to be your girlfriend, then why do you feel bad about getting hit in front of her? Do you like her?"

Luke didn't look the girl in the eye as he answered slowly, picking his words carefully, lest they come back to bite him.

"She's my best friend, really. I just felt bad about the whole thing is all. And it's not like we're interested in each other like that and all. Or at least, I don't think she is. We just like to tease each other is all, I guess."

The girl didn't respond immediately, instead stopping at a door that Luke assumed led to her room. "It sounds to me like she matters a lot to you. It's none of my business though. Sorry for prying."

She opened her door and was about to enter and close it when Luke stopped her and asked "You hollered something at me when I was leaving, didn't you? What'd you say?"

The girl turned and twirled her hair around her finger, looking a little embarrassed by the question. She answered it regardless. "I had thought you didn't remember me after everything that had happened. So when you left, I told you my name. it wasn't anything important."

Luke nodded, before turning and heading down the hall again. "Goodnight!" was spoken over his shoulder, not paying much attention. The girl nodded and was about to shut the door, when something sprung her into action. "Wait!"

Luke stopped and turned yet again, wondering what the girl could want this time. "You still haven't said it. You still haven't called me by my name. Don't you remember it?" She was leaning on the door, hoping that the boy would remember her name. That would be so embarrassing if she'd pried into his business so much and he didn't even know her name.

Luke just grinned at the girl before answering "Sure. Goodnight, Katie!"

* * *

><p>AN: And there you go! I hope you like this little chapter pretty well. It's only the first half or so of Jean's power surge episode, but I didn't want to make this too lengthy, did I? I think this was a decent enough chapter anyways. I got to write out some more character relations and all the good stuff that comes with being a teenager. So I hope you guys enjoyed.<p>

I'm on the verge of changing the rating up to M, mostly because I have a guilty conscience over chapters like this. I know I've seen worse swearing and adult content in rated T, but I'm still uncomfortable with it. Let me know on how you feel I'm doing when it comes to staying inside the T-rating.

I know that this chapter looks like I'm pushing for a pairing, but to be honest, I'm still up in the air about any pairings, if any. Katie is gonna be an important girl, but I'm just not sure about trying to write a pairing at all. I don't think I'd be good at it cause I've no real experience at relationships. But that's why I have a computer! Anyways, review if you have an opinion on the pairings and I'll keep it all in mind as I continue writing. I'll probably be busy for a while because as of tomorrow, Dead Space 3 will be my baby! Booya! Can't wait. As always, BigWillis, out!


	23. All In My Head

AN: Hey guys. I started this chapter a while back and this is the fifth or sixth revision. Sorry for running so late on the update, but this one was trickier than I thought. The original bit for this chapter had me whooped. But I beat it now, so read on and tell me what you think in a review. Disclaimer: I don't own any of Marvel or its products nor do I pretend to. Sometimes I do pretend to own a large amount of sanity and cleverness. Chapter comes from one of the deepest songs I've ever listened to. Joe Budden and Royce da 5'9' are some amazing artists. No Love Lost was a great album.

Chapter 23

All In My Head

He overslept. Who could blame him? He'd been suspended for school for three days, so he had no reason to set his alarm for its normal time. There wasn't any scheduled team training for the morning, which was as surprising to the students as it was welcome. Wiping his eyes and stretching his muscles, Luke sleepily glanced at his alarm clock. 9:23. It was unreal how good it felt to sleep in for once. Luke blinked a few times as he sat up in bed and he remembered just why he was sleeping in so late. As he did, that good feeling drained out of him like water down a drain.

He was doomed. The Professor was gonna kill him. He got kicked out of school his first day back, then hid it while he went out partying last night, even if he hadn't gone for himself. The man was going to annihilate him whenever they got around to speaking. He might not have looked it, but Xavier was much worse than any fire and brimstone pastor in a church. Luke couldn't imagine a worse lecturing than what Xavier was going to eventually give him. And it was all his fault.

Sure his teacher was being an obnoxious, presumptuous, and stuck-up woman, but he was supposed to be the bigger person in that type of situation. Xavier would be disappointed. And the tongue lashing that would follow would be dreadful. And all Luke could do would be to sit there and take it, like an obedient child.

It made Luke wonder what having his father around would've been like. Would he be getting these kind of lectures from his own flesh and blood? Would his dad even care to try and chew him out? Would Luke have even done it if he had a father figure steering and chastening him as he grew up? Or would Luke even care what his dad had to say like he cared about what Xavier said?

The last question was the only one Luke felt he could answer, which was a firm no. He respected Xavier more than he did anyone else and no one else came to a close second. He doubted that if he'd of ever known his father growing up that it would change anything. Luke cut his musings short and slipped out of bed. He had things to do today after all.

Grabbing clothes to wear for the day, Luke headed to the shower and got ready. Stopping by his room to grab a few things, he headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. The normal wild and loud uproar that accompanied his usual breakfasts was absent and another unpleasant reminder of his situation. Fighting over seats at the table or the last of the eggs wasn't a problem for Luke today. Instead, the normal morning buffet of food had been cleared and he was moved to feed himself.

Since he wasn't a cook, cereal would be the source of his morning nutrition. He was pretty sure one of the younger kids had eaten all of his breakfast bars anyways. He opened the pantry and grabbed a box, not bothering to check the brand. Storm kept an active eye on the food supply of the mansion and that it met a certain nutritional value. Who'd of ever thought she was such a health freak? Luke then grabbed the rest of his utensils and milk, sitting down at the counter space. He poured his bowl at began to poke at it with his spoon, drowning all of the flakes of cereal in a childish habit.

He finished his series of corn flake drowning and got a spoonful just as he heard footsteps. Looking towards the door, he was surprised to see a rather familiar woman step through. She stopped, her hands falling into place on her hips in an ever so familiar habit of when she dealt with him before. Luke let his spoon slip out of his hand and deliberately swallowed the cereal. He sat and stared, mind slipping through a huge number of thoughts and not a single one of them making it to his unhinged mouth to speak. She noticed, and decided not to comment, instead addressing another matter.

"Xavier wants you to report to class with the other New Mutants. I'm supposed to warn you that for the next three days you'll be on probation to see if you should be enrolled here as a full student instead of letting you go back to high school."

Luke's mouth gapped even more, before he finally gained enough clearance to speak.

"What? Xavier wants to take me out of high school? Why? He can't think a single suspension is enough to warrant pulling me out of school! It's not even that big a deal!"

Rebecca Anderson simply held an amused expression and answered "That's between you and the Professor himself. But if you do good the next three days and I recommend it, he'll send you back to school. So I'd suggest you quit all of your childish bids for attention and straighten out your attitude for a little while. Lord knows the world would be a better place for it."

Luke sat in silence for a moment, the consequence of his actions sinking in for a moment before he shook the thoughts and asked "So what are you doing here? And why are you supposed to recommend me for school again in three days?"

Rebecca shifted some, revealing a new and prominent X mark on her shirt, the symbol of the X-men.

"I've moved back to the Institute to teach. I'm in charge of the new students, so I'll be taking care of you for the next few days as well. And since we already know each other so well, I'll be using you as my star example. Letting me down now, right when I'm just starting my classes, would be _very_ bad. Do you understand?"

Luke fished for his spoon and took a bite of his now soggy cereal. Swallowing it and letting his dislike wrinkle his nose, he looked directly at his old teacher turned new and said "I understand. Do you? If you don't get me back in high school, I'll be here every day, back in your class being as disruptive and uncooperative as ever. Only this time, I'll have a whole group of other mutants to distract, annoy, and provoke while under your watch. We work together to get me back into my proper classes, or you might as well start buffing that resume of yours."

The flat look of unabashed disdain settled on her features. "You're trying to blackmail me with yourself? As if a juvenile and childish boy with unbelievably strong powers is enough to warrant me giving anything less than my honest opinion to my employer and a man that I personally hold in the highest of regards? You're deluding yourself, Luke."

Luke just let the smallest of smiles settle on his face as he shot back "You do realize what you just said, right? A childish super powered teenager with all the motive in the world to begin the most diabolical and sinister sting of pranks ever to be witnessed on the face of the planet. Yeah. You don't have any reason to worry."

Prophetess just flipped her hair in annoyance and turned, ready to leave the room when she threw over her shoulder "The first class starts in the library ten minutes from now. Don't be late."

Luke ignored her and returned to his cereal, now intensely disinterested in eating it. He finished it anyways, his mood settling lowly as he made his way to the library. He didn't grab his backpack for school. It wasn't like Mrs. Anderson would pick up right where Mrs. Barnes left off during her last lecture in English. And if he didn't have any paper or a pencil for any assignment she gave… Oh well.

He arrived with time to spare, but instead of going in, he stayed outside of the room and thought about what he was doing. What was he really doing?

'_Proving a point? Or is it just my pride making me an ass? Do I really think I'm above all of the rules here and I can get what I want just cause I have power?'_ Luke wondered, deeply reflective. He was toeing the very stern lines that Xavier had drawn. The man had expressed long ago that he had wanted Luke to act responsibly as a reflection of his school, and thus himself. Grades weren't that hard to keep in check, but pulling stunts like what he'd done yesterday was overboard.

Did he even care if he disappointed the Professor? Sure, he cared about the man. Luke respected him more than any other person he knew. But did that really matter if it interfered with Luke doing what he wanted? Was he going to act like Scott and Jean, perfect models of students and exceptionally talented in everything they attempted?

'_No. I'm not them and I don't want to be. The Professor knew who he was getting when he brought me here. He's a telepath, he knows better than anyone what I've done and how I am. I cut up in school, make good grades, and have fun having fun. He knows that I'd never directly harm the team or anyone here. That's all that matters, right?'_

Intentions good or not, they didn't save him from the angry teacher that stormed out of the library and greeted him with a loud "Class! Now!"

Luke blinked a few times, but didn't even attempt to apologize. Too late for that. Looking around, he saw that a few of the tables consisting of library's layout had been rearranged to allow for a classroom setting. Luke spotted an empty seat amidst the horde of new students. Grabbing the seat and arranging it as far away as he could from where he presumed Rebecca would be teaching from, Luke was greeted by a tap on the shoulder.

Luke saw Jamie absorb back several bodies of himself as he turned his head to see Katie beside him, retracting her slim finger back to the table where it started tapping to an unheard beat. She had a questioning look on her face, but didn't dare speak. Rebecca had reentered the room and was trying to orchestrate the wayward Jamie clones into rejoining with the original futilely.

"Oh, I'm sitting in on her class to make sure she's up to snuff and all. I'll be monitoring her for the next three days. So just pretend that I'm a fellow classmate and if I ever cause any disruptions, go along with them. I'm testing to see how well she can handle this job under stressful conditions."

Katie's mouth gapped some in surprise, before looking to examine her teacher one more time, as if she'd changed. "Why does she need monitoring? Is something wrong?"

Luke knew he was wrong for lying, wrong for tricking the girl, but there was something about the believing look on her face, as if she was dying to trust someone that made him want to keep going. Katie soaked in every word as he gave her a surprised look, acting as if he was shocked by her lack of knowledge.

"You don't know? Katie, Mrs. Anderson was a patient at a mental hospital last year. The Professor got her out of there before anyone discovered her powers, but no one really knows if she ever recovered from her mental breakdown."

Katie's eyes were as wide as saucers, telling Luke with every detail on her face she believed him. It was bittersweet, watching her face slip from surprise to amazement, then dread as she glanced at her teacher, who was coming close to losing her temper with Jamie. Luke couldn't contain his mirth and let his head drop to the table as his body shook with barely contained laughter. Katie wondered what the teen's problem was, but when he raised his head, he didn't answer.

Rebecca finally straightened out Jamie and his clones with the help of Sam and Marley. Once the children were in order, she turned to address the class, smoothing out any invisible wrinkles in her clothes. Luke whistled loudly, but she promptly ignored him, even at the snickers of the other guys. Once that had settled down too, she smiled forcedly and said "Today, I'll be introducing you all to a few more complex bits of literature for us to discuss and digest. Yesterday we finished up the section of Frost, so today we'll turn to one of my personal favorites, Dublain. Now, can anyone remember why we've been taking these bits of literature and combing through them?"

A hand shot up, waving around in the air violently in a vie for the teacher's attention. Seeing it was the only hand up, Rebecca nodded her head at Marley, who was vibrating in her seat in anticipation. Marley nearly sprung out of her seat and she happily recited "We are using this to increase our focus as well as our ability to notice smaller details to help create a bigger picture! Right? I'm right, right? Of course I'm right!"

Prophetess forced another smile as she nodded her head and began to pass out papers. As she handed them out, she added to Marley's answer. "Many people are under the notion that poetry is simply words that rhyme and follow a certain pattern. But those with the proper focus can" She was cut off by the loud chiming of a phone.

Following the direction of the sound, Rebecca nearly let her professionalism fall apart when she saw it was Luke. The boy had the decency to blush and look embarrassed, but he quickly dug his phone out of his pocket and checked it. "Sorry Rebecca. I didn't realize I still had this on loud. I won't let it happen again!"

The woman didn't like the smile on his face, as she could tell the boy was planning something behind the polite façade. She finished handing out the poems to her students before making her way back towards him. Holding out her hand, she gestured for him to hand her the phone.

"Let's not risk it today Luke. I'm sure that your little girlfriend will understand. Let me have the phone and I'll tell her you're busy making up for your mistake."

Luke's face soured as he retracted the phone back towards himself. "Don't think so, teach. If she finds out that I'm letting other girls go through our messages, she'd get mad. And she's a lot more scary than you are, trust me!"

Honestly, he didn't care if Amanda would care, which she probably wouldn't, but he didn't want Rebecca to take his phone. He'd read the message she'd sent him, asking where he was and he was gonna text her back. He would've been bored otherwise, having to read the stupid poem instead. He knew Rebecca knew it was a bluff, but like hell he was gonna let her get his phone without a hassle.

She reached for the phone, but missed when Luke slapped aside her one hand and set the phone down on the table. His hand lingered, but Rebecca pried it off with little effort. The phone was another story. Luke simply smiled as the woman attempted to pick the phone up off of the table, only to fail and nearly knock herself off balance. She tried again with both hands but found the phone wouldn't budge. Looking up, she shot Luke a nasty glare and retreated back to the front of the table arrangement, trying to save face.

Luke grinned and just when she began to speak up to address the class again, his phone dutifully chimed. The perfect timing amused some of the students and Luke added to it saying "Just a moment. I never got the chance to silence it." Picking it up with obvious ease, Luke switched the phone to vibrate, but not before blatantly responding to the text. Rebecca chose not to say anything, instead beginning on with her lesson.

Luke continued his nuisances, laughing out loud in inappropriate situations, cracking jokes with other students, and using his powers to make subtle disruptions, like knocking over a stack of Rebecca's papers. Try as he might, the class actually went fairly well. The younger students all enjoyed Rebecca and even paid attention to her lecture on the short poem. It was astounding to Luke. He hated English lessons. But these kids were practically chomping at the bits for her to continue. She never caught that much attention back at his old school. Did she?

Luke decided to throw that in the back of his mind and focused back on the conversation between him and Amanda. She was worried that Terrence had really hurt him, since he wasn't at school. He'd had to explain to her what he'd done yesterday, get chewed out via text message, and now he owed her and was obligated to take her out again sometime in the near future. The last part he didn't really mind, but he didn't give any signs of that in his complaining response. He wasn't really sure how to feel about it. Was she interested in him and wanted another date? Or was he over reacting and she just wanted a free dinner with a friend? He couldn't dig it out of himself to man up and ask. Would he really be happy with either one of the answers?

While he tumbled the thoughts over in his mind, he couldn't help but notice that Katie seemed particularly interested in his phone. She was subtle with it, but she would lean back in her seat or arch her head to view the screen on his phone. He was a bit curious as to why, but didn't call her out on it. He'd pick on her later about when he figured out her motive.

The lesson wrapped up after Prophetess was satisfied that all of the students had drawn something deeper out of the literature asides the words written on the paper. They were all dismissed for lunch and were to report back to the danger room and suit up at 3 o'clock sharp. Rebecca gave a clear look to Luke when she said this, getting a laugh from the other students.

The kids all filed out of the classroom and Luke followed quickly, making sure Rebecca didn't have time to hold him back and lecture him on his behavior. Instead, he decided on something much more fun and a bit spontaneous. Tapping on her shoulder, Luke held his phone out wordlessly as Katie turned around. She looked at it briefly before her eyes darted up to his sheepishly. The New Mutants didn't seem to notice those two fall behind as Luke and Katie made awkward eye contact for a second, then broke off.

"So, I kinda noticed you were looking at my phone in class." Luke started, not sure where to go from there and wishing he would've never opened his mouth. Curse him and his spontaneity! Katie rubbed her arms nervously and tried to explain.

"I wasn't trying to pry or anything, but I just read what you two were saying. She seemed really mad at you for not being at school, especially when you told her why. Speaking of, why did you lie to me about you being in our class?" Hitting that subject, Katie could be angry, looking back into Luke's eyes firmly. After all, her prying was way better than his lying!

It was Luke's turn to be ashamed as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry about that. It was just funny to pull your leg a little. I never meant anything by it, promise."

She 'Hmph'ed in distaste, but let it slide. Instead she said "So are you taking her back out on a date?"

The words shocked Luke for a moment, as he wasn't expecting her to have seen that part of the conversation, but he recovered. "Well… I don't really know. She's been really weird lately. I can't tell if she's just happy to see me since I've been gone, or if things are different between us now. I don't want to make another rift between us, so I might blow her off this once and make it up later. It'll buy me time to see how things are between us."

"It won't work." Katie quipped unexpectedly. Even she seemed surprised by what she just said, but it was too late. "And why not? Luke pressed. He was talking to a girl after all. Maybe a feminine point of view would help him see things clearer? And she already knew the situation, mostly. Whether he liked it or not.

"Blowing her off is gonna hurt her, either way. As a mutual friend or something more, it won't matter. Are you really this clueless on how this kind of thing works?" Katie questioned incredulously. Surely a guy like Luke could figure out how that would work. It was a stupid idea.

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. I never had a friend like her before. That's why I want to be so careful, cause this kind of thing is new to me. Heck, I never really had any friends before I came here."

Katie's eyes widened, and instinctively her hand reached out and grabbed his, channeling her powers. Luke was surprised, but when the wave of happiness hit him, he was speechless. It was bliss, arguably one of the best feeling he'd ever had. It was like sharing a good laugh with Kurt or having fun with Amanda. Katie realized what she had done and tried to withdraw, only for Luke to grab hold of her hand, not wanting the feeling to end. Why would he? It felt great!

Luke's senses caught back up with him and hit him like a train, making his eyes snap open and him to jerk his hand back from hers. Face burning, both teens looked away from each other while mumbling out apologies. Eventually the two of them were capable of looking each other in the eye, which led to a short and terse silence between the two.

Katie shifted, fixing to leave and go to the kitchen, when Luke stopped her, blurting out "You wanna go out and get lunch with me?"

Katie turned back to him, blushing and looking him over to see he was incredibly nervous, as if he wanted to hit himself for saying what he just did. She narrowed her eyes, but managed to ask innocently enough "Why?"

Luke knocked any of the stammer out of his voice and spoke out "I was gonna go get some actual food and since I held you back from eating lunch with the others, I thought I should make it up to you. It'll be my treat and I'll even let you pick the restaurant so long as it isn't Chinese. Plus, I kinda need your advice on this since I'm so clueless."

Katie nodded slowly, "Well alright. You can drive?"

Luke bobbed his head yes, before leading the way to the garage. When he stopped at his motorcycle, he was met with a sudden vehement disagreement. "No!" Surprised, Luke turned to see Katie with her hands on her hips and standing firm. Her face didn't give any budge room, so Luke didn't even try. If he pushed the subject, she probably would've left anyways.

Deciding to get a new vehicle, he noticed the rather new car that had been added to the spacious garage. A maniacal feeling welled up in Luke as he concluded who's car it was. Grabbing the appropriate set of keys off of the peg board, Luke opened the door for Katie and ushered her inside. Getting in the driver's seat, he was met with the question "Are you sure it's alright to drive off the mansion grounds? Us new students aren't supposed to leave yet until we're cleared by the Professor."

"Or if you're escorted by a senior team member, which I happen to be. In fact, I'm extremely senior, as I've seen more combat than all of the other students. You'll be safe with me. I'll take care of you." With those reassuring words from Luke, they were off.

The two headed off into town, making small talk along the way to get to know each other. Katie decided on a local pizza parlor, so the two arrived and entered the near deserted diner while talking about school before arriving at the mansion.

"I lived in Virginia before I came here, so I was just in a regular public school, like the one here. Mrs. Anderson taught there. That's how we met. I acted terrible at that school, so we've never really gotten along. I bet you were never much of a trouble maker in school were you?"

Katie shook her head. "I was privately tutored. I didn't have much choice, so I behaved or else I was disciplined. That was how all the children were treated." That was a lie. Where she was before could hardly be considered a school. It was more of a prison. It was why she escaped and came to the Xavier's school.

The two were seated and after the waiter got their drinks and gave them menus, Luke picked back up, asking "So where did you live? What'd you do in your spare time? Did you have any hobbies or anything like that?"

Katie shook her head and never let her eyes rise above the menu she was holding, answering "I lived farther up north. I wasn't given much free time where I was. The program I was in had me doing school work nearly the entire day and the rest was spent doing extra assignments." More lies. She was kept in a solitary room until she was needed. Then she would be drug out, ordered to use her powers, or face consequences that she never wanted to speak of.

"Like, extra credit stuff? So are you a big scholarly girl, cause that's really cool. Smart people are underrated and I wish there were more of them."

Katie giggled at this, but didn't comment. The waiter popped back up, ready to take the orders after giving them their drinks. Katie went first and ordered a small plate of pasta, while Luke ordered a personal sized pizza. The waiter disappeared again, leaving the two alone with each other.

Katie decided to start the conversation back up, asking him "So what did you do before you came to the mansion?"

"I worked. I was by myself because I left my mother and sister and was on my own. The only problem was the fact that a young kid with developing mutant powers couldn't do much without attracting the wrong kind of attention. I worked as a freelance Network member. I wasn't the for real deal, but they gave me local jobs so I could stay fed and afford stuff like my motorcycle." Luke left out the part about his dad leaving him a large sum of money to withdraw from as he saw fit. He didn't want to come off as smug and wealthy to the girl.

Katie had missed every word he said after she heard 'Network'. It wasn't conscious, but the fear in her mind had broken through all her senses as it erupted. Her breath hitched, her arms tensed and only the barest bit of sensibility kept her from bolting out of the pizza parlor. The Network. She'd spent so much time trying to get away from them, watching her back, and then they found her again at the mansion.

Watching Marley get pushed out of the window scared her so much. It had brought back every bad memory she was trying to get away from and told her she wasn't getting away from them. When Ghost had grabbed her and was about to take her back, she'd never been more frightened in her life. It had been so horrible before, she would've rather died than to go back.

Luke didn't know what he'd done wrong, but when he saw Katie tense up, his hand reached out to grab hers. He didn't know why, but it was instinctive and his mind was too busy leaping through scenarios to question it. Was her power acting up? Was she sick? Did he need to get them back to the Professor? His hands wrapped around her smaller one and gripped it softly. The small gesture of comfort startled the girl even more and a flood of chemicals left her, rushing into Luke through her hand.

The feelings hit Luke like a bucket of cold water, only it settled in his lungs and stayed there. Cold, suffocating fear hit him, flowing over from the girl across the table. It was unreal, wrapping him up and making every hair on his body rise on it's end. He choked out short, raspy breaths until he finally ripped his hand from the suddenly strong grip Katie had. He'd never even noticed her clench her hand around his.

As the direct contact broke, so did the overbearing feeling of terror, snapping Luke out of his near panic attack. The teen took a few moments to recover, checking around him t make sure no one else noticed his weird sudden behavior. Katie calmed somewhat too, but she was still on edge and her eyes were fleeting. She didn't look directly at Luke, showing every sign of someone who just wanted to get out of there.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what that just was, or what it was all about, but I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Luke intoned slowly, keeping his hands out in the open on his side of the table ass a sign of peace. Katie noticed, but she couldn't focus on such a small detail. Her struggle to get her heart rate back down was more prevalent than an almost empty hand gesture.

"I-. Yeah I think so. I'm sorry. You said you-… You used to work for the Network?" Katie whispered, as if saying the name out loud would draw in an army of agents looking to kidnap her again. She was paranoid now, and no amount of controlled breathing exercises would calm her.

Luke slowly nodded his head, before explaining again, carefully. It was apparent now that the girl had issues with the criminal group, something he should've figured from how he had first met her anyways.

"Yes. I took solo jobs as a freelancer. I was never given a squad and never got sworn in. I didn't realize that you had past problems with them. I guess I should've considering what happened to you when we first met. Are you going to be okay? I promise you that I'd never try to take you like they did. I want you at the mansion, where you'll be safe with people who care about you."

Katie watched Luke's eyes as he spoke, staring deeply into them, making Luke uncomfortable as he spoke. He didn't waver though. He couldn't afford to, lest he frighten the girl and start a scene. That, and he felt obligated to calm her down after terrifying her so much in the first place, even if by accident.

"Give me your hand." Katie held out her own, holding it up and open for Luke to place his own in. Luke gave her a funny look, asking "Why the sudden interest in holding my hand? Last time we touched… wasn't exactly fun for me."

Katie wasn't deterred, instead coming out and stating her true agenda. "If you want me to trust you, give me your hand. I'll be able to know for sure then if you were lying to me." She had to be sure. This was something she couldn't risk. She'd never go back to where she was before. She couldn't.

Luke blinked a couple times at that. Really? She wanted to trust him, that was easy to see. But was it worth it to give her his hand and risk feeling so horrible again? The decision made itself as Luke's hand settled into hers lightly. Luke grimaced when she started to grip him tightly, but repeated what he said earlier.

He could feel her powers at work, strange feeling swimming around his head before something began to pick at the back of his brain when he finished talking. As soon as he noticed the prickling feeling, the migraine set in like a hurricane on his mind. His eyes formed tear up in the corners instantly from the sudden head mincing pain, and reflexively he tried to draw back and curl up in a ball. Katie's grip kept him from the fetal position as he heard her try to whisper something across the table, but he couldn't register it. His head was stuck in static, pain blocking out anything his ears, eyes, nose, or other senses picked up.

Luke was aware enough to know that he couldn't curl up enough to comfort himself and tried to free himself from the grip Katie had. When she didn't let go, Luke nearly pulled her across the table and into his lap. His eyes clenched shut, he couldn't see her try to calm him down and was too distracted to see her reach out with her free hand and grab him as best she could across the table. She began to undo her work, retracting the information in Luke's brain telling him he was in intense pain. The pain receptors in his brain calmed down, no longer under fire from the evoked pain she had made.

She drew back across the table to her side, straightening it out to make it look normal again. The waiter came out at that time, oblivious to what had just happened at the table. Luke had managed to maintain some semblance of normalcy, as the waiter didn't seem aware of any disturbance. Maybe the guy was just really dense? Either way, their food was placed in front of them and they were left on their own again as their eyes locked.

Katie picked up her fork, poking at a portion of her pasta and swirling it around the silverware, blowing at the bit of steam that rolled off of it. She did this a few more times, waiting for Luke to speak. Luke just watched her, his eyes still struggling to retain the excess liquid it had formed in the corners. He blinked back the tears, placed both hands down on the table, and exhaled slowly.

"Don't lie to me. Ever. If you ever even think of taking me back to them, or assisting them capture me in any way, that will be merciful compared to what pain you'd feel when I got my hands on you again. You understand?"

With that, she plopped a mouthful of pasta into her mouth and giggled a bit. "You know, I think this is my very first date. I picked a great spot! This is delicious. Try yours!"

"What the hell?" Luke fumed through clenched teeth. Seriously. What the hell? "You knew I was telling the truth, so you did that to warn me? As if I was really gonna try to go back to an organization that had already tried to kill me a dozen of times already? Where the hell do you get off thinking that you can do that to me, then just wave it off like I just didn't experience the worst headache I've ever felt in the blink of an eye? I have half a mind to leave right now and the other half wants me to try and repay you for the migraine by smashing your head around for a while."

Katie didn't seemed to be too bothered by his proclamation, instead focusing on spreading some of her own goodwill to him. Flooding the immediate area around her with pleasure, she noticed the effect it was having on Luke. His still tensed body calmed and unwound. He snorted once, before settling to eat his pizza before it cooled too much.

Katie smirked to herself, and before long, the two were back to their normal amount of conversation. Luke, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why he was suddenly so lenient to Katie's actions, but a good mood hit him and settled into his bones. A smile had wormed his way onto his face and he couldn't deny that he was having a good time eating lunch with Katie. Such a good time that it bugged him as being unnatural, but he couldn't figure out why.

The two finished lunch in quaint joviality, Luke paying as they left and drove back to the mansion. As he drove, Luke turned to face Katie for a moment, asking "So was going to lunch with me worth it? You trust me now, right? After what just happened, I really hope so."

"This is a start. Keep taking me out to places and we'll see, okay?" Katie replied. Luke just chuckled at that, still feeling unnaturally good, but not fighting it. Why would he? That headache felt miles away and he couldn't get enough of this warm feeling right now. The mansion came into view, breaking the good mood with the disturbing sight of the roof tearing. Luke speed up, barreling down the drive and slamming on the brakes when in the garage.

Cutting off the car and jumping out of the vehicle, the two were inside their home in seconds, where a crowd had gathered in the lobby. The younger students as well as the older ones had all assembled, with only Jean missing. Katie and Luke slipped in the crowd unnoticed and were soon caught up to speed on what was going on. Jean was losing control of her powers due to their sudden increase.

The older team was ordered to suit up and get ready to assist Jean, leaving the younger students behind. As the groups broke off, a tremor shook the house, making the heavy chandelier above creak and groan. Luke stopped and turned just in time to see the chain snap, causing it to plummet with several of the younger students beneath. Reaching out with his powers, Luke dropped to one knee and braced himself, as if he was about to catch the light fixture.

The younger students watched their demise slow, then stop before the huge fixture was set aside near the stairs. Rebecca noticed it was Luke who saved the children and bit her lip. Now was not the time. Luke pushed himself up wobbly and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Rebecca, get these kids down to the Danger Room and seal it up. That's the safest place inn the mansion right now. Hurry, before the elevator messes up. Marley! Whenever you see the walls begin to crack, fix it! Sam, keep everyone close together and smash up any rubble that falls on top of you guys, alright?"

The teens all yelled out in chorus at the orders, before grouping up and heading down the hall towards the elevator. Rebecca shot him a look before she followed after her students, but Luke didn't have time to figure out what it meant. Instead, he ran off after his old team and suited up. They needed him too, undoubtedly.

The team got ready and stormed into the room Jean was in. It looked as if a tornado had been birthed around the unconsciously floating Jean, as everything around was being drawn into the cyclone of wind and debris. The situation was made clear that someone needed to get through to Jean, something she could focus on. Scott elected to fill that role. Rouge volunteered too, suggesting to siphon off some of Jean's excess power. Luke personally didn't care how it got done, but he saw how hard it was going to be. Jean was pulling up everything, making it a hazard just to be there. Kurt proved that when he got whacked in the face by an empty pan.

Luke decided to change that, waving his hands about, using his powers to fight Jean's uncontrolled grip on loose objects and hold them against the walls. He caught more and more loose junk as the team began to help too. Cyclops shattered loose plaster, Spyke pinned down some, and Wolverine stood guard over the Professor, shredding whatever got too close with his claws. Kurt ported Rouge in close before being sucked away alongside her. Rouge caught onto a few loose wiring cords hanging from the ceiling, using them to swing closer to the redhead in need. Nightcrawler teleported himself back into safety in a jumbled heap, but unharmed.

Rouge made her way closer, fighting against Jean's monsoon of power. Luke tried to help ward some of the pressure off of her, letting her pull herself in a little steadier. Feeling the strain of using his powers too much for his muscles to handle, Luke let the loose junk free and focused solely on pushing aside Jean's telekinetic storm. It was hard to say if it helped Rouge any, as Luke wasn't even sure his powers could effect Jean's, but he tried anyways until his arms gave out. Rouge finally made contact, tapping Jean's face and getting a mutual cry from both of them as the power transferred.

Rouge was thrown back to the team by a shockwave of Jean's power, but Scott caught her easily, setting the Goth girl down by Kitty. He called out for Jean, desperate and pleading. Much more raw than Luke was expecting of the team leader, who was supposed to be in control of himself. Rouge answered, Jean's voice spilling out through her lips. Luke was surprised, but then again, Rouge's powers had probably taken away so much of Jean that her voice was likely to come along as well. Scott gripped on Rouge's shoulder's, giving some speech to the girl that Luke couldn't hear over the still raging winds from Jean's power surge.

This time the answer came only from Jean herself as Rouge groaned groggily in Cyclops arms. Another shockwave shook the room and Jean plummeted, landing on the table beneath. Scott jumped up, leaving behind a hurt Rouge as he ran over to her side. Her powers fully died down, returning to dormancy inside the girl's mind as Scott started telling her something. Luke couldn't make it out over the pain that was lacing up his arms as the limply hung by his sides.

By the time the muscle had regenerated enough for him to use them somewhat, the team was beginning to leave, all comforting Jean in smalls ways before leaving her to clear her head with the Professor. Luke and the man shared a brief moment of eye contact before he left, and surprisingly, the telepath didn't seem mad at him.

Luke smiled, wondering if Jean's power problems might've gotten him of the hook. Maybe? His luck hadn't been the best as of late but maybe this was a sign of things turning around in his favor. Rubbing his arms, Luke left the totaled room to go and check up on the New Mutants. Partially to make sure they were safe, and also in hopes that being around Katie some more would bring back that good feeling from earlier. He was starting to miss it.

The elevator was still working fine, so Luke went down to the Danger Room and entered, finding everyone still huddled up together and expecting the worse. When they saw him, some of the kids cheered and waved him over, taking his presence as a sign that everything was alright. Luke laughed at their excitement, telling them that everything was calm upstairs now and that Jean had recovered. Rebecca stood back in small amusement as Luke was mobbed by the New Mutants, all shouting and trying to get his attention so they could ask him all sorts of questions. Luke himself laughed, before answering everyone the best he could.

He didn't know the whole story, but what he could tell them satisfied everyone. "So that's what I know. And that just goes to show how things are at the mansion. Crazy, sometimes a little dangerous even. But everyone here is here to help each other. Take care of your friends and they'll take care of you."

Eventually after a bit more laughing and playing around, everyone made their way upstairs in an overcrowded elevator. Storm was waiting and borrowed Marley to fix the room Jean had trashed. The other kids tagged along to see just what Jean had done to make such a catastrophe. Most were amazed by what they saw, a few were scared. Luke just lorded over the group and told them "Yeah. And it would've been worse if I hadn't been here."

Marley worked her wonder to restore the room, leaving nothing to see asides the normal mansion décor that decorated the home. She joined back with the younger students and Luke decided that an actual celebration was in order. "Late-night pool party!"

The students scattered among shouts, cheers, and laughter as they all went to grab a swim-suit. Luke just laughed before going to get his own. He deserved to relax after all. He just helped keep Jean from destroying the mansion, saved the New Mutants from a chandelier, and earned Katie's trust somewhat. As he rambled through his room looking for swim trunks, he couldn't help but wonder why that last one mattered so much to him.

Shrugging, he changed and quickly made it out to the pool. The other kids had already gotten down there and were all having a blast. Luke was quick to join them, running up to the pool and jumping in with a bellowed "Cannonball!" The resulting splash was larger than it should've been, but Luke figured using his powers to cheat a little wouldn't hurt any. It was all in good fun.

Xavier sat in his chair on his office's balcony, watching his students below having fun. Prophetess stood beside him, giving her report on the day's events. Xavier listened, but his eyes never wandered from the scene below him. After she finished, he craned his neck to look at his youngest staff member. "Do you believe he's improved any?"

Rebecca didn't need to be a mind reader to know who Xavier was talking about and answered in kind. "His classroom etiquette certainly hasn't gotten any better. But seeing how he handled the accident today, I think he's shown a great deal of responsibility over the kids. He has their respect and he hasn't abused it…yet. I still need two more days to decide if he should go back to high school, but so far, he's been a boon to the younger students. It might be best to keep him here just to help them out."

Xavier nodded, before looking down and spotting the boy in particular. "Very well. You have two more days and we'll make a decision. After today, I might take Jean up on her offer to replace her role as their team leader with Luke. Do you think you could handle him if I put him in that position?"

"Of course. He's just a single brat. I'll keep him in line Professor."

Xavier wheeled his chair back around, heading inside as he commented "For someone who's only a brat, he seems to have gotten the upper hand on you on numerous occasions Rebecca. Perhaps you should think about this."

Rebecca said nothing as the man returned inside, choosing instead to stay on the balcony and watch over her charges. While the kids may have been out of control, Luke was done their making sure no one was hurt, using his powers when necessary. He even added to it, throwing a screeching Jamie up high for an incredible splash into the pool. A sliver of a smile slipped onto her face as she thought to herself '_Maybe I can use him after all.'_

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><p>AN: Ok. Well guys… What to say? It's only been nearly three months, but damn. This chapter really got away from me. I redid it several times and nothing seemed to fit just right. I don't know why this one was so hard to finish. Katie was harder to portray than I thought, but here's the rundown. She <em>is <em>a nice girl, but she refuses to go back to the Network. So she does what she has to, using her powers to manipulate brain chemistry to get her way. I know that seems kinda dirty, and it is, but that's a real decision she makes with her powers. That's how she uses them. I hope my readers get what I'm going for here. Not everyone can be nice. Sorry about the long wait and hopefully the next update won't take as long. Until then, BigWillis, out!


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